Entranced
by Mistress del Mare
Summary: **Finished- new story called 'Forever Yours**Lily and James are the resident hellions, and in the process of wrecking a little havoc upon Hogwarts, they fall in love.
1. The Reunion and the findings

Chapter 1- The Reunion and the new findings  
  
September 1, finally, it has arrived! No more Petunia, no more days without magic! Finally! Yes! 16-year-old Lily Evans thought as she rolled her self out of bed and landed on the floor with a loud, thump. "Ouch!" she exclaimed as she pushed herself up off of the floor.  
  
She looked around her room, which consisted of two colors-sea green and a dark blue- and sighed. In a way, she always yearned for this room while she was at Hogwarts. She disregarded the feeling, and went to take a shower.  
  
Twenty minutes later, she walked out of her bathroom in a long, black robe, her dark red hair, drenched wet, droplets of water slowly making their way down her body, and her skin smelling dimly of the ocean breeze, as it always did.  
  
Lily walked into her wardrobe and picked out an outfit, and was about to call her mom on the intercom to see what was for breakfast, but she saw the clock that read 10:28 a.m., and she yelped.  
  
Oh god! I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late, I'm going to be late- she chanted in her head as she put her hair in chopsticks, still dripping wet, and hastily put on her garments.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The Hogwarts Express  
  
"Where is she?" asked Kayla Cameron, who at the moment was looking for her best friend, contemplating if she was going to miss the train.  
  
"Where is who," a deep, male voice answered from behind the inhabitants of Kayla's compartment- mainly just her other best friend Aradriana Williams.  
  
Kayla's body tensed and spun around to see who had voiced the question, and came face-to-face with a grinning Sirius Black.  
  
"Actually," she said as her body relaxed. "We are looking for Lil. You haven't seen her, have you?" Sirius shook his head and said, "Can't say that we have." It was then, that Kayla and Aradriana saw that the rest of the Marauders- meaning James Potter, Remus Lupin, and regrettably, Peter Pettigrew.  
  
"If you are looking for me," a female voice drawled from behind them. "It's too late, seeing as I have found you." Everybody whom was in that compartment, shifted their gazes towards the other door, and saw a lovely teenager with red-brown hair and emerald green standing their in black hip-huggers, a sea green turtle neck sweater on, and a long black overcoat.  
  
"LILY!" they all shouted and launched themselves at her. Seeing as she was the only one that they hadn't seen all summer, due to the fact that her family lives in Italy and she was traveling around a lot this summer they missed her most.  
  
"Get of! You're crushing my lungs! I can't breathe! Please! Gerof me!" yelled a gasping Lily Evans from the bottom of the dog pile. When Lily was able to stand again, she looked over all of her friends for the first time in three months, and noticed the changes that they had gone through during her absence.  
  
Sirius still looked the same with his spiked midnight black hair, eyes so dark brown that they almost looked black, although it looked as if he bulked up in the right places during the summer, it also looked as if he got a inch or two taller, leaving him to be around 6'3'' now, and that he had gotten a little tan.  
  
Remus looked if anything, more fatigued then he had the last time that Lily had seen him, but then she remember that there had been a full moon last night. Other than that, he still had the same short sandy blond hair, and the same gray-blue eyes, but he might've grown a half an inch or so over the summer, having him around 6'1''.  
  
Peter, well peter, he just looked corpulence than he had when she had last saw him, and his brown hair looked flaccid, and his eyes, well his eyes just looked uncanny. And he was still short. Somewhere around 5'4'' was Lily's guess.  
  
Lily's eyes then ran over James, and they nearly shot out of their sockets. He had gotten hot over the summer! Lily thought. James's hair was still the same jet-black unmanageable hair, but his eyes had gotten a darker blue, almost like the color of the ocean at night, he had gotten taller too, he now stood somewhere close to Sirius's height, if not a tiny bit taller. He had also gotten more muscles. God how hot does he look?! Her mind screamed out. Lily took one last appreciative glance at him before she turned her head towards Aradriana.  
  
Aria as we all call her, had certainly gotten more beautiful during these last three months. She had cut her hair to where it just got past her shoulders, which fitted her better than when she had her hair long. Her baby blue eyes now shimmered with happiness, and she had gotten taller. At least about two, three inches taller. She looked magnificent now.  
  
Lily then looked at Kayla, her best friend. She still looked exactly the same, with her long, curly, black hair, and her eyes that looked like a fire just put out within the smoky orbs. She still hadn't grown an inch either; she still stood tall at 5'9''.  
  
"I take it," Lily said as she concluded the changes on her friends. "That I was missed." The last said with a smirk. Everybody took it how it was meant, and laughed, except for Peter, who didn't get it, and said, "Actually, no, you weren't." I looked at him and raised an eyebrow. The little worm had never like me. Lily said in her head.  
  
Why, that little fucker! James thought to himself. James looked at Lily again, and his body started to tense and grow hard. She sure had grown up over the summer. Her red hair, which was dark enough to be confused as brown, had been cut by the looks of it, seeing as hardly any of it spilled out of the chopsticks that she had stuck in it. Her emerald green eyes sparkled with excitement, and her lean, tall body was shaped with hard earned muscles. She looked like a sea goddess. A mermaid even. She could grab any male teenagers, that had hormones, attention faster than you could say I'll be your slave for the rest of my life if you'd just give me one night! Which is most likely the reason she was known to be such a exceptional lay for those few who could get to her. It was said that she didn't sleep around much, and that she was really fastidious about who she slept with. I wonder if she would ever give me the chance. James started to speculate.  
  
The rest of the train ride went off without a quandary, unless you counted Snape and his morons coming into their compartment and harassing the lady's, who call themselves the Elements, and getting blasted with a combination of a water proof fireball, a tsunami, and a tornado all at once.  
  
It was now time to change into our robes, and the girls had gone to the bathrooms to change. As they still had about ten minutes left, the girls only came back with undershirts on. (Lily's being dark blue, Kayla's being gray, and Aria's being white.) The three boys' mouths, in synchronization, dropped open and touched the floor. It was a rare sight to be able to see the shape of a females' body at Hogwarts due to the modesty of the uniforms that they had to ware. After the guys got over their initial shock, they noticed something else.  
  
"YOU HAVE TATTOO'S?!" they shouted in unison.  
  
The girls looked at each other, then the boys with sheepish grins. "Yes." They answered together. If it was possible, the boys' mouths dropped wider when they heard Aradriana reply also, for they hadn't seen a indication of a tattoo on her. "Do you have any other's besides those ones on your arms?" Sirius directed to Lily and Kayla at the same moment Remus asked Aradriana "Where?"  
  
The girls grinned at each other before Kayla lifted up the hem of her shirt, and showed the boys the dragon that was around her belly button and the belly button ring also. Then she turned around so that her back was facing them, and Lily lifted down the back of her shirt to expose the two wands that were crossed in the middle, sparks escaping out of the tips, with the fire background.  
  
Lily then turned around and Aradriana pulled down the back of her shirt to show the boys her tattoo of the two wands crossed exactly like Kayla's, only that the wands were encompassed by water. She then turned around to show them the tattoo that was around her belly button. It was a tattoo of one fairy on the top and bottom of her belly button, with blue ribbons and stars twirling towards each other.  
  
Aradriana then turned around so that Lily could pull down her the side of her shirt so that her tattoo of the wands but this time with the markings of the wind, could be exposed to the boys. She then turned back around and lifted the hem of her shirt slightly to expose the swirls around her belly button, which at the moment like Lily's didn't have a ring in it. "H-h-how long-"Remus stuttered.  
  
"Have you had those?" asked James and Sirius with awed expressions on their faces. "Longer than you have been in possession of yours." Lily said, remembering that James had his name tattooed on his right arm, a cross with swirls inside of it on his left arm, and two swords joined together with water all around them on his right shoulder blade. Sirius with the name "Padfoot" on his arm, a cross that had fire within it on the opposite arm, and the same tattoo of the swords, only with fire snaking the blades of the swords. And Remus with the same sword tattoo also, only with wind movements behind it.  
  
"And we're just seeing these?" whined Sirius. The girls laughed at his "hurt" expression. "Please note that we are two minutes away from Hogsmeade Station. Please sit down, and when the train comes to a complete stop, make your exit out of the closest door. Your luggage will be escorted to the castle within a few minutes. Thank you." The girls then decided to put the rest of their uniform on.  
  
As they were walking out of the door, Kayla and Lily still doing up their Ravenclaw ties, Aria asked, "Have any of you seen Tiffany? She wasn't on the train with us, was she?" Kayla and Lily stopped what they were doing so that they could think. Was she on the train with us?  
  
You see, to them Tiffany was like what Peter was to the Marauders, someone who followed them around for refuge and illustriousness. "I don't recall even seeing her." Lily said as they all got into a carriage, not concerned that you weren't allowed more than five to a carriage. So Lily sat on James's lap, while Kayla sat on the adjacent lap to the door, which to her luck was Sirius'. Actually, after a long pause in conversation, four other, "I haven't seen her" s was said. 


	2. The Feast

Chapter 2- The Feast  
  
"Just remember to start the spells as soon as Dumbledore claps his hands, okay?" whispered Kayla to James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, and Aria.  
  
"We know already!" Sirius hissed back at her, getting tired of her lecturing.  
  
Kayla glared at him, then haughtily walked towards the Ravenclaw table. Lily stayed back and looked at Sirius. "You know," she said to him. "You can get her irritated, or in a bitchy mood better than anyone that I know of. But I can tell you this," she told him with an evil glint in her eyes. "If she goes to bed in a bad mood, and I have to hear about you being an overbearing, moronic, childish, stupid prat one more time, I'm going to make your life miserable. And don't think that I won't." she gave a nod to the others and walked off towards the Ravenclaw table and sat down next to Kayla and across from Aria.  
  
"You know Padfoot," James said to Sirius as they sat down at their normal seats. "Lil there has a point. Not even Malfoy can get her as raving mad as you can." James glanced at his friend and grinned. " Is there something going on here that I should know about? I mean I am your best friend. And I think that if you are going with the most untouchable female in this school, and possibly this world, that I should know, don't you think so, Moony?" Remus grinned at James and decided that this would be a fun game to play. "Oh, yes. I do. So please, do spill, is she good in bed?"  
  
Sirius looked at Remus and choked on air. "I can't believe," Sirius said as soon as he stopped choking. "That you said that. You know as well as I do that I'm not with her, and I now have a very scary mental picture of such a scene thank you very much. I'm going to have nightmare's for the rest of my life!" James and Remus just chuckled, and Peter being Peter didn't get what was going on, so he just smiled and acted as if he got whatever the joke was.  
  
"Tiffany!" Lily screamed as she saw her other friend walk towards the table. She walked over to the girls merrily, and plopped herself down. "Hello." She said as she situated her self next to Aria. "I didn't see you guys on the train, where were you?" the three girls looked at each other, then Tiffany. "Tiff," Kayla began only to be cut off by Aria. "We were in the same compartment that we have always inhabited on all of our train rides." Tiffany looked at them with shock. "B-b-but Snape and Malfoy said that Slytherins were in that compartment, and that I should look else where! I didn't know." Aria and Kayla were muttering something under their breath that sounded suspiciously like plans for Snape's and Malfoy's demises. Lily on the other hand, looked behind her at the Slytherin table, to see to grinning idiots looking at her who most definitely needed to wash their hair.  
  
"Hey, guys," Lily, said all the while grinning at the scheme that she came up with. "You know how we always say that those two gits need to wash their hair?" she asked them and waited for them to nod their heads. "Well, I don't know why we've never thought of this before, but what do you say that we sorta help them out, and make them wash their hair?" anybody who knew Kayla and Aria could see the cogs in their heads working over time at the moment.  
  
Aria looked up, grinned, then took out a piece of parchment and a muggle pen from her robes, and wrote a note to the Marauders about the change in plans. She then gave the paper to a giddy Kayla, which was a rare sight to behold. Kayla then took out her wand, said the simple charm that they had learned during their first year, and levitated the paper over to the Marauders for their approval. It landed on Peter's head, and Remus snatched it off of his head before a teacher could notice, and looked over his shoulder towards the girls. Lily nodded her head and mouthed, "Open it and reply."  
  
Remus looked at the parchment in his hands, and opened it, wondering what it was about. He read in a loud whisper to the rest of the Marauders the following:  
  
Marauders,  
  
Change in plans. Don't do the first prank, came up with new one. We're giving  
  
Malfoy and Snape a couple of baths to get all of their disgusting grease off. You  
  
May use the spells requita aquia for the water, trasporto soapium, and repes  
  
oilnes. You guys do Snape, we do Malfoy. The Elements.  
  
  
  
Remus looked up at the others, and saw that their grins were just as wide as his was. This a fantastic prank! Why hadn't they come up with this before? "I always said that those girls would make beautiful Marauders." James said. Remus looked down at the parchment, and scratched, Right after Dumbledore makes his announcements. The Marauders.  
  
Sirius then took the note and balled it up and threw it at the girls. And it hit Kayla in the head. She looked up and glared at him. Sirius on the other hand, just winked at her and blew her a kiss, which resulted in a death glare from Kayla, and left James and Remus shaking their heads at their friends' stupidity.  
  
"Pouncer," Lily said soothingly at Kayla, who looked like she was going to slaughter Sirius on the spot. "Just open the letter. And, you know that he didn't mean it. He's too egotistical to have a death wish." Kayla then turned towards Lily and glared at her. "You know," she said to Lily. "Hunter, you're right. He thinks that he is going to be the last man left alive on this planet, and that he is going to get every fucking girl on this planet to sleep with him. I mean did you see that? He winked at me! He winked! Oh, how I'm going to kill him. While most little girls dream about weddings and husbands and children, I dreamed about killing Sirius Alexandros Black with my bare hands. And one day, I'm going to do it. Oh the glory I'll get. Everybody will be praising me for getting rid of an-" at this point, her speech became muffled by Lily's hand, which was conveniently held tight to her friends mouth. All that could be heard now was, "hef wilth dief munmm miium toidifn." While Lily was trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean, Aria was trying to unclench Kayla's fist so that she could get to the letter. "Aha!" she yelled in triumph when she finally succeeded in getting the letter away from Kayla's grasp. She quickly scanned the letter, and nodded to Lily, who in return looked at the Gryffindor table, and grinned at the Marauders. This is going to be sooo much fun. Five people thought at once, the sixth one a little too busy planning the death of one of the others.  
  
"Students, quite down please. The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin." Said one of the Professors. As soon as every one had done what they were told to do, Professor McGonagall walked in with all of the new first years and led them towards the Head table.  
  
The new first year students looked around the Great Hall in awe. Then turned towards the old, raggedy looking hat that resided on a footstool in front of everyone else. When the brim of the hat opened, most of the students gasped in shock. The hat then began to sing about the houses and the founders of the houses.  
  
"As I call your name," Professor McGonagall stated. "Please step up to the stool and I'll put the Sorting Hat (at this she lifted the hat up) on your head so that you may be sorted."  
  
"Ayner, Steven." He sat on the stool for a few minutes before being declared "Hufflepuff."  
  
"Bumpkin, Nichol..Gryffindor!...Cunnings, Michael...Ravenclaw!..Dunswiler, Isabelle..Ravenclaw! ...Etheridge, Gregory...Slytherin!..Fruiets, Howard...Slytherin!...Ginsaing, Evian...Gryffindor! .... Hindrictsd, Sarah..Hufflepuff!..." and so the sorting went on, and on, and on.  
  
"A few words before the beginning of term Feast." Professor Dumbledore said as he stood up. "The Forbidden Forest, as always is just as the name states, Forbidden." He said this with a glance towards the Gryffindor Table and the Ravenclaw Table. "The Whomping Willow is not to be used as a game, for it is deadly, and it does indeed pack a strong punch. With that said williewilliebinellie." He then clapped his hands, and the six students turned towards the Slytherin table, and started muttering spells under their breath, then sat back and tired to look innocent by eating. Then the laughing began.  
  
Lily looked up at the Marauders and saw that they were kneeled over gasping for breath, and quickly spun around in her seat to look over at the Slytherin Table.  
  
Snape and Malfoy were getting their heads dunked in water bins, then getting pulled out so that soap could be applied, then getting dunked again. This process repeated four or five times before a magical voice came from the spells and declared, "These two gits hairs is too greasy, or oily, or whatever you wish to call it, but the fact is, that no amount of Shampoo will ever help them." The Great Hall roared with laughter at that, and even the strict Professor McGonagall was having a hard time keeping a straight face. And Professor Dumbledore, well he, he was just chuckling at the sight of the scowling Slytherin boys, and the beaming Marauders and Elements. "Now that we have had our entertainment for the night," Professor Dumbledore said as he stood up. "We will give out the customary detentions to Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, Ms. Evans, Ms. Cameron, and Ms. Williams, then we are off to bed. Prefects, please escort your new students to your common room. And those who I just gave detention to please note that that is to be served tomorrow night with the Care Taker. Have a good night."  
  
Lily, Kayla, Aria, and Tiffany waited for the Marauders then began to walk towards their Rooms, all the while talking about how great the prank was, and wondering why they hadn't thought of that before now. "I don't know, I was just looking at them before the Sorting started, and realized that we should do something about the disgrace that they call hair." They then got to the split in the staircases where they had to go their own ways and said their goodbyes for the night, and walked to their respected towers for a good nights worth of sleep. 


	3. The Detention

Disclaimer: All characters in this story except for Kayla, Aria, Tiffany, and some others that I might make up along the way, belong to the very talented, and VERY rich J.K. Rowling. (Lucky her.)  
  
  
  
Chapter 3- The Detention  
  
James woke up to his personal alarm clock jumping on his bed. "Sirius!" he groaned as he tried to cover his head with the blankets that had magically disappeared. He groaned again, and muttered, "It should be bloody illegal to be so hyper in the morning." Sirius must have heard this, because he said, "Come on, Prongies! You know that I'd do it anyway. You're just soooooo very funnnnnn to buuuuuuugggggg. Wakey wakey wakey. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! And I don't know the rest of that sonnnnnnggggggg!!" Sirius finished in a singsong voice. James looked at his best friend with an concerned expression. Surely someone this happy on a Monday morning at.. 6:59 a.m. had to be insane. James kicked Sirius half- heartedly behind the knee's, and his insane friend fell with a muffled "Oomph" on the floor. James looked over the side of the floor to see Sirius laying on the floor, and could it be? Yes, the little hellion was ASLEEP! He woke me up, then he falls back a sleep! Not on this day and time, and DEFINITELY not on MY watch! James slipped silently out of bed, bent over Sirius and, knowing that no amount of screaming would wake him up, James whispered in his ear, "Oh, my God! Would you look at that? Kayla Cameron in a veeerrrrrryyy short and naughty looking nightgown, in our own room."  
  
Sirius woke up in an instant, his head whipping every which way to witness this phenomena, and maybe get a little peak at her body.shhh, don't tell though.  
  
James's laughter could be heard all the way into the common room, he was surprised that no one came up to see what had happened he was so loud. Sirius looked at him and said, "You bloody little bastard. To get a man's hope up," he huffed. " Only for t hat man to see them fall down a veryyyyy steep cliff and go BOOM! That's not a very nice thing to do Jamsie Wamsey Bamesey." James gave him a look that stated and-you-think-that-waking- me- up-before-dawn-is?  
  
"Well," James said as he glanced around the room, and found to his amazement that Remus and Peter were still asleep after all that racket. "I'm going to take a shower now that I'm up. And I hope that you wake Peter up in the same kind. Just leave Remus alone for a while longer. The other night was the full moon." With that said, James grabbed his uniform which had been laid out the night before by the house-elves, then went into the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Kayla was sitting on her bed thinking about the many different ways to kill Sirius when she suddenly heard a strangled scream that came from Lily's bed. Kayla hurriedly got out of her own bed, raced towards Lily's, and wrenched open the hangings to find Lily tangled up in her black and blue sheets, sweat dampening her body, and a expression that could only be explained as terror on her face. A groggy, "Lily?" came from behind Kayla, and she turned her head to see Aria rush over to Lily's side also. "What's wrong with her?" Aria asked. All she got in answer though, was a shrug, for Kayla didn't have a clue either. Not unless.no, it couldn't be. She got rid of those nightmares years ago.  
  
Kayla gently laid her hand on Lily's shoulder, and shook her awake. Lily came up swinging, but as Kayla had been prepared just incase she was indeed having these dreams again, stepped back hurriedly. "When have you started these dreams again?" Kayla asked, and received an astonished glance from Aria, and a sorrowful one from Lily. "About two nights ago." Lily then looked at Aria, and said, "I'm not going to tell this story again unless I fell like it's required, but I want to tell you this. It's gory, it's disgusting, and it's violent. Do you want to hear it?" when Aria nodded her head without an hesitation, Lily sighed and made room on her bed so that the two of them could get on it with her.  
  
"When I was about10," Lily began with a sharp intake of breath as all of those memories of that night came flooding back with the force of a tidal wave. "My sister died. My twin sister. Her name was Camellia. I loved her with everything that I was. You see, we were like one person. I felt everything that she felt, and vice-versa. We were inseparable. She had a wild side, and next to her, I'd look like a nun, even now. One day, we had made plans to go up to the cliff that was on our property, and hung over the hills in Ireland. We were to go at night, because our parents would be extremely pissed off at us if we were to be out there. You see, this cliff hung close to 300 feet from the pointy hills, that were littered with sharp dangerous rocks. And the cliff itself was very fragile, because it was just hanging off of the ledge, and pieces of it would plummet to the ground below during storms. With Ireland, you never know when it's going to storm, or when it's going to shine, so that night we went on with our plan, not paying any heed to the thick, dark clouds over our heads. We had just wanted to see what it looked like down there, because we were never allowed close to the edge, and you couldn't see down there from any window in the house. Cammey had ran a head of me to see what it looked like, because I thought that I had heard someone following us. Within a couple of seconds, t he sky's opened up, and rain plummeted the ground relentlessly. And before I could run up to my sister to drag her away from the ledge." Lily, who had been sobbing silently throughout this whole story, started to shake and gasp. "The ledge, it-it-it-it fell. And s-sh-sh-s-she w-w-w-went with it." Lily choked out then began to sob on the nearest shoulder, which happened to be Aria. Kayla then came over to the other side of her from the foot of the bed, and began to make soothing movements on her back.  
  
"Oh, my God, Lily. I'm so sorry that that happened." Aria whispered. Lily looked up, her face tearstained, and cracked a smile at her friend. "Over the years I've learned to deal with it, little by little. I now hardly ever have those dreams anymore, and I only cry when I tell someone else, or I start t thinking about what my life would be like if she was still here, and things like that. There's nothing to be sorry for, but thanks anyways." Lily looked into both of her friends eyes, then said, "I have first dibs on the shower. Which I'm going to take right now, so you guys can either go back to bed, or find an interesting way to wake her," she said pointing to Tiffany. "Up." With that said. Lily picked up the revolting uniform that was required, then walked towards the shower to get ready for the first day back at school. And if this morning is any constellation, it's going to be one hell of a day. She thought to her self as she began to strip.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Breakfast.  
  
"Why is it," James asked in an irritated voice as they walked over to the Ravenclaw table for breakfast. (They, meaning the Marauders, always ate Breakfast over at the Ravenclaw table with the girls, then the girls ate Dinner over at the Gryffindor table with the boys. And lunch was a toss up. Which ever group got to the Hall first, the others sat at their table.) "That they always seem to stick us with the Slytherins for Potions. You'd think that they'd get the idea that our two classes do NOT mix, and would keep us apart. But oh no, they put us with those smelly, greasy, conniving, bastards every freaking YEAR!" James screamed the last, then smiling sheepishly when he noticed everyone staring at him.  
  
Lily and Kayla looked up and grinned at James, and said in a sugar sweet voice, "Potions with Slytherins again this year boys?" The three boys, minus Peter-he always ate at the Gryffindor table, saying "It's improper to eat at any table but your own. Plus, I'm likely to get killed or poisoned if I eat over there", glared at them. Lily then looked down at the Ravenclaw Sixth year schedule, and swore. " I guess we can't gloat all that much, seeing as we STILL have Herbology with the smelly bastards." Kayla's head shot up from the book that she was reading, and snatched the offending piece of paper out of Lily's hand and swore venomously.  
  
"Well," Remus and Aria said at the same time. Aria blushed and continued. "We have three classes together this year." Remus nodded, and continued. "Yep. Transfig., Charms, and History of Magic." Kayla and Sirius looked gleeful at this for some reason, while James and Lily looked shocked. The teacher's always complained when they had the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws together, especially if that class held James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Lily Evans, Kayla Cameron, and Aradriana Williams inside its walls. They always created too much trouble, and always ended up with twice the amount of detentions that they normally came out of classes with. Yet, they have three classes together. Not to mention that James, Sirius, Lily, and Kayla all have Divination together, and Remus and Aria had Muggle Studies together.  
  
Just then, mail came. Lily got a letter from home, a good amount of love letters, and a few friends that she had met during summer in the Virgin Islands. James got a letter from his mom and sister, and a few love letters again. Sirius got some Chocolate from his Dad, a letter from his mom, and many admirers letters. Remus got something from his family, and a few letters professing love for him. Aria got a letter from her mom and brothers, two from some of her friends that went to different wizarding schools, and a couple letters from admirers. Now Kayla, she was a different thing. She got a letter from her mother and father, and a countless number of love letters, offers to be her sex slave and so on. Being the single most hardest female that looked half way decent, she was one of the most sought after female in the school, coming in the same ranks as Lily and Aria.  
  
Kayla groaned and set all of the letters aflame.  
  
The bell singling class was about to begin sounded throughout the Castle, and students languidly got out of their seats, and headed towards their first classes. The group of six that sat at the Ravenclaw table groaned with great depth, not wanting to go to potions with the Slytherins, and not wanting to go to Care of Magical Creatures with the Hufflepuff, who always seemed too scared to go with in a fifty mile radius of the creatures that are out there.  
  
They said their goodbyes and went on their way.  
  
(A/N: I'm going to skip the classes and lunch, 'cuz well, I don't really know what to write, and I want to finish this chapter tonight, and that requires the detention, so sorry.)  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Dinner  
  
"I so do not want to do detention tonight." Whined Lily as she sat down at her normal seat next to James at the Gryffindor table. "I know. This day has got to be the longest in Hogwarts history." Complained Kayla. "Pouncer, you have no idea how right you are. The three of us here alone got seventy- five points taken away from Gryffindor." Sirius said. "All in Potions too!" James huffed. "How were we supposed to know that," he paused to take a bite of food. " we weren't supposed to answer her questions! I mean come on! She was mumbling to herself for hells sake." (A/N: Sorry if you think that that was meant as a religious thing. I didn't mean it that way, but I couldn't think of anything better.)  
  
Before any of them knew it, dinner was over, and they had to go out onto the Quidditch grounds to see what their detentions were. All of them dragging their feet along the way. When they got to the field, they saw that Really Cranky- the Caretaker- was already there, and living up to his name, as always.  
  
"You two," he said in a hissing voice, pointing to Remus and Aria. "Will be polishing the hoops on the Quidditch rings. You two," he said pointing towards Sirius and Kayla. "Will be polishing trophies, and you know the drill. No wands. And you two." He sneered towards James and Lily. " You two will be in the Library restocking books. Now you all go to your destinations, someone will be there to tell you what to do. No go! Scat!" and for once, they did what he told them to do. Which was only because they wanted to get away from the crabby, priss of a caretaker.  
  
Lily and James made their way to the Library, while Sirius and Kayla went the opposite way, towards the Trophy room. "Books." Lily sighed as they stepped inside. "Hello, Mrs. Empia." The librarian looked up from the book that she was currently reading, and smiled at her favorite student. "Why hello, Lily. How was your summer? I hope you read some interesting things." Lily beamed at the mention of books. You would be able to tell that they were her one true love if you had just meet her for the first time, and didn't know anything about her what so ever. James cleared his throat to make his presence know just as Lily had opened her mouth to comment. Lily frowned at him, then said, "Oh, yes, how silly of me. Madame Empia, this is James Potter. He and I have a detention to serve here." The librarian nodded in James's direction, and replied, "Oh yes, you are to be putting these," indicating a rather small pile of books if you asked for Lily's opinion, but rather humongous if you asked James. "In alphabetical order, and laying them out in that such order on that table there." She said pointing towards a table near an empty bookcase. "I'll be back in two hours to retrieve you two. Behave now." With that, she had disappeared.  
  
Sirius and Kayla were at present, arguing. Like always. "Sirius, so help me God if you do not remove your hands from my ass, I will hex you into the next Era." Kayla growled at him. But, Sirius being Sirius, didn't move his hands immediately. He had to give them a little squeeze before releasing the nicely rounded hemispheres. "Yes, your Highness." He mocked. Kayla growled at him from deep within her throat, and attacked the trophy that she was polishing with a fervor that she had never shown before, trying- unsuccessfully- to ignore the telltale blush that graced her cheeks.  
  
"You know," Remus started as he and Aria started to clean the Quidditch hoops. "I do believe that our friends have a problem." Aria looked at him, and smiled. He's so handsome. She thought. "Yes, they seem to like each other. Kayla, even though she swears that she fantasies about Sirius's death, has a little bit of a crush on him, and Lily, well you saw how she looked at him on the train. Almost as if she could eat him right up. And he was just standing there gazing at her as if she was the most beautiful thing in the world. We all know that Sirius, even though he won't admit it, has a sweet spot for Kayla." Remus grinned at her. Nothing passed her, did it? "So," he drawled. "What are we going to do about it?" Aria looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes that could be mistaken for one of Sirius's looks, if her eyes had been brown, and an evil grin to go along with that. "We set them up." 


	4. What Are They Up To?

Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own many of these characters, but I do own Tiffany, Kayla and Aria.and some other people in this story, but I can't remember their names. Sad isn't it?  
  
  
  
Chapter 4 - What are they up to?  
  
  
  
"Why is it," Tiffany mumbled quietly to herself as she sat down with her friends in their normal seats in the Potions class the next day. "That we always have to hang around those moron Gryffindors? I mean all that they do is get us in more trouble. But oh no, we just have to be around them practically every single second of our free time! Stupid idiots."  
  
Lily and Kayla unfortunately heard this, no matter how quiet she had been. "You know," Kayla snapped. "You don't have to be around us." Lily gave Tiffany a disgusted glare and said, "Anyways, the guys were our friends first. Hell, I've known Sirius and James practically my whole life." Tiffany glanced at Kayla, then at Lily. Oh god. I didn't mean to get them mad. She thought. No one who was wise would dare get any of the Elements bad side. Aria, Kayla, and Lily were known to have very bad tempers. Kayla and Lily being the ones who got mad more often than Aria.  
  
"I'm sorry." Tiffany muttered. The two girls huffed, and with a final glare watched their potions master storm into the room once again.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"God, I hate herbology." Sirius moaned as they stepped into the humid green house on the Hogwarts grounds. "Oh, come on Padfoot." Remus said in a comforting tone. "At least we get a chance to torture the Slytherins without having an observant teacher around." James snickered. This is where the boys played the most tricks on the Slytherins. The herbology teacher was so entranced in his plants, that he usually didn't even know that he had students. It was only by pure luck that he happened to talk out loud while he was working that gave the students a clue as what to do.  
  
"Come on Padfoot," James said. "You know that you'd never pass up the opportunity to be in this classroom with the Slytherins." Sirius looked as if he was thinking about it, then grinned with pure evilness. "You know," he said with a wicked tone. "You are absolutely right. I think that this is my favorite class. The Prank on Slytherins Class. Long title, but I do so love this class." James and Remus laughed, and Peter, not knowing that some things should just be kept to himself, said, "Yea. Plus, those evil bitches aren't here either. I don't see why you guys like to hang around them so much. I mean they're mean!" Peter satisfied that he finally got a word in on at least one of their conversations sat down and began to get his things organized in front of him for class. "Peter, never, NEVER," Sirius growled, only to be interrupted by James and Remus hissing at the same time, "Say anything like that again." James looked at Peter will a disgusted gaze, and whispered. "I have known two of those girls for thirteen years of my life." Sirius then interrupted James with this final warning. "If you ever so much as try to hurt them, so help me god Peter, you won't live to see another day." With that said, Remus, James, and Sirius went to find a different seat, preferably away from Peter.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Lunch  
  
The girls, minus Tiffany, who thought that it would be better to stay far away from the other three for a few hours, walked grumbling towards the Gryffindor Table as they saw the Marauders sit down at their table.  
  
Lily sat next to James, who was next to Remus, whom Aria sat next to and immediately started whispering to, and Kayla sat next to Sirius, who had immediately wrapped his arm around her waist and started to whisper very provocative and very naughty words in her ear, only to get pushed off the stool by a very tomato looking Kayla Cameron. The rest of the group, and a few near by Gryffindors laughed.  
  
"You know," Lily secretly whispered to James. "I think that she is finally wearing thin for him." James chuckled and then stopped and thought about it. During the past four years - which is about when Sirius realized that girls did NOT have cooties, and were to his astonishment, actually very fun to have around- Sirius had been sent to the hospital seventy-nine times, and has had any number of bruises and cuts from Kayla hitting him, pushing him, tripping him, or sending other females on him, making him run for his life else he'd be surrounded by fluttering, ditzy girls. "You know what," he replied. "I think that you are right. By now he'd at least have about twenty bruises and a few cuts." Lily giggled at the thought of all the pain that Sirius must have suffered from Kayla's hands.  
  
"Hunter." Kayla whispered over the table, and gave Lily a swift kick under the table for good measure to get her attention. Lily glanced up at her friend and raised an eyebrow. A habit that annoyed the hell out of Kayla. Kayla glared at her, and jerked her head towards Remus and Aria, and mouthed, "What's with that?" Lily looked to the right of her, past James remarkably big chest, and looked at Remus and Aria, who at the moment were lightly laughing, and whispering in each others ears. James, who saw the direction of Lily's gaze, turned and looked along with her, and at the same time as Lily, his jaw dropped, and his eyes became as large as a quarter. You couldn't even see white in either of their eyes anymore. Sirius saw the absolute shock on his friends faces and followed their gaze to see what was going on, fell out of his seat with his legs stiff in the air. Everybody snapped their attention to Sirius, and started laughing.  
  
Once composure was gained again, Kayla gasped out, "Are you okay?" Sirius got up rubbing the back of his head and said, "Ow." Which caused a few more chuckles. "Well Remus," he said in a chirpy voice as he sat back down. "Congratulations on being the first of us to get one of these fine lady's." Remus blushed in response, and stuttered out, "W-w-we a-a-aren't.eh.that is." Aria took pity on him, and answered. "We aren't dating thank you very much."  
  
Sirius looked at James, who looked at Lily, who looked at Kayla, who looked back at Lily, and they all, as if in silent agreement, shouted, "THEN WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON?!" Remus and Aria looked taken aback by the yells, but replied, "We're planning something. But you'll have to wait to see what it is." With that, they got up and started heading towards the Transfiguration class. By the time they were out of the hall, the other four dazedly got out of their seats, and slowly, very slowly began their walk towards McGonagall's class. All of their thoughts along the same lines. What the hell is going on between those two.  
  
While they were in the Transfiguration hallway, someone came up from behind Lily and wrapped their arms around her waist. She stopped, as did the others. I wasn't going out with anyone when I left last semester, so who the hell is this? She thought as she bewilderedly looked down at the long, thin, pale hands that were wrapped around her thin waist. She then tilted her head back and to the side to figure out that question, and looked into the grinning face of Amos Diggory. The most sought after 5 year in Hogwarts. Lily's eyes lost all warmth that they held within a millisecond, and she glared at Diggory, then the hands that held on to her. He got the point, and quickly let her go. Lily turned around so that she could face him, and in a voice laced with steel, she said, "Don't you ever touch me again. If I had wanted to be touched, I would have asked you to, but I have no recollection of even implying that I had wanted to be touched." Diggory faltered under Lily's gaze, and hurriedly said, "So-sorry. Didn't mean to insult you. I'll be going now." He squeaked out the rest. Lily watched him sprint down the hallway and turned towards her friends and let out a puff of air. "Idiot." She stated as they began walking the short distance towards Professor McGonagall's class. 


	5. Loves Sticky Situations

Disclaimer: No, I don't own most of these characters. I do own however, the crazy people-bar Sirius. Meaning I own Kayla and Aria-and some of the cracked up Professors that I'll come up with.  
  
  
  
Chapter 5- Loves Sticky Situations  
  
By the end of the day, Lily was in a extremely bad mood. She kept on snapping at everyone who talked to her, even the teachers! Instead of going into the Great Hall for dinner along with the rest of her friends that night, Lily decided to save everyone from her seething temper at the moment, and stalked towards the Ravenclaw Tower to do some homework, or something, anything to keep her mind off of her problems at the moment.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Jesus, I don't think that I've ever seen her this pissed at nothing before." Kayla said as they all sat down. "You? She practically snapped my head off and ate it for a late lunch snack thingy in Transfiguration! All I did was suggest that she was having a severely bad case of P.M.S., and she threatened to turn me into a girl so that I could see what it would feel like to go through all of that shit." Sirius said, and shuddered at the thought of going through "all of that shit". "Although, I'd make a strikingly fine-looking lady, dontcha' think?" he asked as a afterthought to his musings.  
  
James shook his head at his friends musings. "Really, though, what's wrong with her?" he asked, more to him self than anyone else as he began to eat. But nerveless, Aria with her sharp ears heard this. "Pouncer." Aria whispered. Kayla looked at her with a confused stare, trying to figure out why she was whispering. "Yea, Aria?" Just then, Dumbledore stood up and got ready to make a speech.  
  
"Good evening students. I'm very sorry for the interruption Mr. Black, but I do indeed having something important to say." Dumbledore commented as he heard Sirius mutter, "This better be bloody important! I'm starving here!" Sirius replied to what the Professor said with, "Then you're lucky." The Great Hall was filled with light laughter, and Professor Dumbledore smiled then continued. "Yes, well thank you. Now, as I was saying. We have some quidditch news for you. I believe that the Gryffindors need a new Keeper, the Ravenclaws a new Beater, and the Hufflepuffs need new Chasers and a seeker. Go to your Quidditch Captains for details on when they are holding their tryouts. The Captains for those of you who don't know, are James Potter for Gryffindor, Amos Diggory for Hufflepuff, Lucius Malfoy for Slytherin, and well, she seems to be missing at the moment, but Lily Evans for the Ravenclaws. I'm sure that they will be posting the tryout dates soon. That is all. Now, on with food. Mimmblewimmblejimmilbe."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lily was up in her dorm room trying to figure out what was needed to unplant a jigsaw baby ( a flower that looks like a puzzle, and when you offended it- as these plants were supremely ugly, it shot a puzzle piece at you that makes you turn neon green for seven hours. But this plant could be used to help restore your magic if you used too much at once.) when all of a sudden the door flies open, and a fourth year girl named Alexandra walked in, and started searching for someone. Her eyes stopped however, when they reached Lily's bed, and she started to come over to her. "I really need to tell you something." She said as she sat on the edge of Lily's bed. Lily had always been nice to Alexandra, she felt sorry for the younger girl in a way. After all, she was shunned at home for being what she is. "What is it Alex?" Lily asked as she pulled herself into a sitting position.  
  
"Well, I.eh." she started. She breathed in deeply, and said, "Iwantedtotellyouthatithinkthatariaistryingtosetyouupwithjames." Lily looked at her for a couple of seconds before she started laughing. "Alex, James is my friend. And even though lately I've been wondering if anything else could happen in between us, Aria wouldn't set us up, now Kayla, she's another thing, but Aria is too straight forward." Alex looked at Lily with a confused expression, saying, "You mean you would go out with James?" Lily sighed and banged the back of her head against her headboard as she leaned her head back. "No. Yes. I don't know. I'd be too scared that I'd ruin our friendship. I've known him for as long as I can remember. I'm not sure. I- no, never mind. That'd never happen."  
  
Alex furrowed her brows in confusion. Had she missed something here? "What would never happen?" she asked hesitantly. Having already heard about Lily's snappiness since Amos had tried to make a move on her. "I would- well, I think that I might actually go out with James if we both did a wizards promise not to ruin our friendship. I mean, after a breakup it'd be fine not to talk for a while, but eventually we'd have to be close again. And I'm not sure that if after-if we were to date- that we'd actually be able to do that, regardless that you have to go through with wizard promises." Lily then exhaled one long breath, glad to finally get all of that out. Alex let out a whistle. "Good luck on that one. Well, I'm going to go down to the common room to do some homework. Bye." Alex said as she got up and headed towards the door. "Thanks, I'll need it." Lily muttered to herself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Padfoot?" James said as they entered the sixth year boys dorm room. "What. Prongises?" Was his answer. "I'm going to tell you something, and I don't want you to tell anyone else, okay?" Sirius looked very interested at this point. "OHHHHH. A secret. Do tell." James sighed, knowing that this was his friends way of agreeing not to tell. "What would you say if I told you that I've a sexual attraction..no, it's more like a bad case of the fancies to Lily." Sirius stared at his friend as if he was mental. "Our Lilybilly?" he asked incredulously. James nodded his head. "Oh. My. God. Are. You. Serious?" Sirius barely managed to choke out. "No," James replied, and Sirius exhaled in relief. "You are. But I'm not kidding. I really want to be with her. And not just for her body. Though you do have to admit that that is a plus. I mean she is hotter than hell, but I like who she is not what she is. I need your help. I need her. I think-" he started to say, then stopped as if surprised by his train of thought. "I think," he repeated in a dreamy voice. "That I'm falling for her. And falling harder than anybody I've even known to fall."  
  
Sirius's mouth dropped open in shock as his friend sat down on his bed in a daze. James and Lily! They would make a good couple though. Hmmm. maybe. Just maybe, they were meant to be together. Sirius grinned at this thought. "Well, Jamesey," he whispered. "Looks like we gotta get you set up with your dream girl." Oh this is going to be so much fun! Sirius thought as he laid back on his bed and began to be thinking of a scheme to get two of his best friends together.  
  
James on the other hand, was just sitting on his bed, still in a stupor. I can't believe that I'm falling for one of my best girl friends. Oh God, please don't let me screw this up, and then have her not talk to me. I wouldn't care about the weirdness around her. Just don't let me screw up. I need her. I need her with a passion. Don't let me screw up. I'll do whatever you want me to do, I'll even stop quidditch if that'd get her in my arms. Please, don't let me fuck this up. I need her like I've never needed anything in my whole life. I'm falling in love with Lillian Maria- Teresa Evans. God Help Me.  
  
I will get Lily to be mine. No matter what I have to go through, I will get her. With those last thoughts, James slipped into slumber, and the awaiting dreams that involved a bed, and one girl named Lily Evans. And what a dream that was.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N:  
  
First of all, I'd like to say thank you to all of my reviewers. I really appreciate it.  
  
Second of all, I'm sorry if I copied anyone's Fanfiction, but I didn't mean too. I will try my best to be more original. My most sincere apologies. Please notify me if I make this mistake again.  
  
And third of all, I was wondering if any of you would be interested in being my beta reader.  
  
Thanks for Reading.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	6. Brilliant Ideas

Disclaimer: I don't own James, Sirius, Lily, Remus, Peter, Professor Dumbledore, and such people as that.  
  
Chapter 6 - Brilliant Ideas  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
By the end of the week, Sirius was ready to pull all of his hair out, piece by piece. That is how bad his plans for getting James and Lily together were going. He had tried everything that you could think of. Locking them in a closet, always leaving them alone, making then get detentions together, making sure they were always partners in classes, he'd even tried to bind them together. Of course, they had to move, and Sirius ended up binding Severus Snape and Jessica Lemoore together. I have got to come up with something! Sirius screamed silently to himself.  
  
Sirius was so resolute in his thoughts, that he didn't realize that his "girl of the week" had just sat on his lap and was running her hands very suggestively around on his chest. Then, without warning, Sirius leaped up out of his reclining position, with the most brilliant of brilliant of plans in his head. Sirius started walking towards the common room entrance, ignoring what's her names insulting words for emitting her from his lap in such a way.  
  
I have to find Kayla and Aria , was all that Sirius was thinking about at the moment.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sirius found the two girls in the last place anybody would ever think to look for one Sirius Black. The library. If truth must be told, when he strolled in through the double doors of the library, he had to take a couple of minutes to look around, having never seen this part of Hogwarts before, he didn't have a clue as to what this place looked like. He had heard horror stories from the rest of the group about how scary and gloomy this place looked, and as he was looking around, he had momentarily forgotten why he was there in the first place while he had been taking in the cheery interior. Sirius quickly redeemed the memory, and sauntered towards the table at which Kayla and Aria sat, discussing something or another.  
  
"Hello, girls." He drawled as he sat down in between then and two boys that were also seated at the table. Aria and Kayla looked at him as if he had lost his mind, while the two boys just glared at him, knowing that Sirius would be taking away the two girls attention.  
  
"S-S-Sirius?" Kayla dazedly stuttered at him, confused.  
  
Sirius grinned, happy that for once in his life that he had rendered Kayla silent. "Yes, my dear?" he replied cheekily. That comment though caused Kayla to snap out of it, and glare daggers at him. Sirius mentally commented to himself that she was far more beautiful and attractive when she wasn't thinking of ways to kill him, and glaring at him as if her eyes alone could kill him.  
  
"Well, I suppose the two of you are wondering as to why I have so suddenly decided to grace this appalling establishment with my god like presence." Sirius said, and went on, ignoring the entertaining stares and un-lady like snorts that came from Kayla and Aria at this comment. "I have the perfect plan for Prongsie and Huntisepoo. You know, a plan to get them hooked up.finally. I would like to do so before I loose all of my hair, for it is such a beautiful thing." Aria smirked at Sirius's narcissists, and asked, "What is a beautiful thing? Your plan or your hair?" Sirius looked at her, appalled that she could even suggest that his hair was not distinguishable.  
  
"My hair of course." He replied haughtily. "But anyways, on to my plan." He said, pointedly ignoring the amused glances that the girls gave him when he said this. "Okay, you said that you guys didn't know if Lily actually liked James, correct?" when they nodded, he continued. "Well, what if you were to convince Lily that she, I don't know.loved him. You know, like plant seeds of doubt on the level of friendship that they have, how she always consults James about things, stuff like that. Now, if you could do that and not screw up, we'd be in a very livable situation. Now, if you can't. Well, lets just say that this might be the last time that you see dear Prongsie ever again. If I have to hear one more thing about how beautiful her eyes are, or how funny and perfect she is, I'm going to murder him in his sleep. Either that, or mime him for the rest of his life." Sirius finally came out of his musings, and looked at Aria and Kayla and scowled. They were sitting there, red in the face, their shoulders shaking, trying not to laugh at what he said out loud.  
  
"Well?" he prodded.  
  
"You do know that you are very mean to even think about killing your best friend, don't you Sirius." Aria said, gasping for breath, and still laughing at the idea of James going on and on about things like that. "Yea," Kayla put in, her chest heaving with the intensity of her laughter. "I don't think that Prongs would be after your life, now would he."  
  
Sirius scowled at the girls, and grumpily repeated, "Well?"  
  
The girls nodded their heads in agreement, and Sirius got up and walked out of the library.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kayla and Aria walked into their dorm room, searching for Lily. When they spotted her sitting on the window seat, they quickly grabbed two chairs and brought them over to where she was sitting. "Hey Hunter." They said as one. She nodded her head, in acknowledge of their greetings. "You, fancy someone. I know that look." Kayla said after she had completed a quick study of her friends face. "Who?" but as soon as Kayla asked this though, she knew. She didn't know why or how, but she knew that her best friend had a soft spot for the one and only James Potter. Kayla quickly glanced over at Aradriana, who had already seemed to have figured this all out. Which left Kayla in a bit of a temper.  
  
Why didn't they tell me! Kayla thought to herself. Then realization hit. Aria didn't tell because she was going to try to set her up with that air headed bonehead Sirius, and Lily didn't tell because she wasn't sure what to do about it.  
  
Kayla decided to deal with Lily's problem before the fact that she was never going to date Sirius. "Lily? Do you want to get to know him in that fashion?" Kayla asked. Lily slowly maneuvered her head to look at her friends, and nodded her head. "I-I-I think, I think that I love him. I can't go to sleep without a dream of him, and some times I catch myself just goggling at him as if I'm one of those idiots from his fan club! I can't help it. I think about him at all hours of the day, and I keep on dreaming, dreaming that he would somehow care for me in that way to. But then, I get scared. What if something goes wrong in this relationship? I don't want to lose his friendship too! I mean I don't know what to do!" Lily confided in her friends. Aria sighed.  
  
"Lily," Aria said. " If you think that you love him, just give him a chance. Just take it one step at a time. And plus, you'd still be around each other, cuz you'd be around us two here." Lily looked at Aria, and then she looked at Kayla. "You won't be mad if I do this?" she asked somewhat hesitantly. They shook their heads no, then for the first time in two days, Lily grinned. "If you two would excuse me, I have to go find some one. I'll be back some time. Buh byes!" with that, a new Lily bounded out of the 6th year girls dormitory, and out of the Ravenclaw Common room, in search of a messy haired 6th year Gryffindor.  
  
She stopped by the Gryffindor portrait, and gave the password, "Honeydukes" and walked in. She glanced around, and saw Sirius, Remus, Peter and some other people seated by the fireplace. Lily walked up to Sirius, and tapped him on the shoulder. He peered at her over his shoulder, and raised an eyebrow. "James?" she asked. Sirius smirked. "He went out for a walk. Sorry." Lily, just because she wanted to, and just because she decided to be just a little immature for the moment, stuck her tongue out at him, and walked away.  
  
Hmmm. I wonder where he could be?  
  
Maybe he's with a girl. That'd mean Astronomy Tower then. Okay, so defiantly stay away from the Astronomy Tower. I think that I'll just go back to the common room, and ask Kayla and Aria if they want to do something for the rest of tonight, and start planning our weekend.  
  
All of a sudden, some one bumps into Lily, and she falls down in the middle of the hall wondering who the hell had stumbled into her. When she looked into the face of the person, she was memorized by the look in this person's eye. They looked almost as if they were haunted by something.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Sorry for the delay on this chapter. It took me a while to think of. But, here it is. Hope you enjoy.  
  
And please, email me if you are interested in being my beta reader. My email address is aradia21@hotmail.com  
  
I'm mainly just looking for someone who would look to see if I used parts of anyone else's fanfic's in mine.  
  
Thank you for reviewing.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	7. Lovers?

Disclaimer: I only own Kayla, Aria, Michelle, and the other people that you have never heard of. Chapter 7 - Lovers?  
  
James was currently situated in the astronomy tower with Michelle Bregane, who was known for her, lets say ripe and large breasts, and was snogging her senseless. "James." She gasped as she pulled away from the intensity of the kiss. James groaned out, "Lily, come back," in response, then drew all the way back from Michelle in horror.  
  
Michelle was glaring at James with such venom that he would not be surprised if he walked out of the tower with enough poison in him to kill all of Sicily. "Why," she started screaming. "The hell did you just call me Lily! And you meant Evans didn't you! How could you? I thought that you loved me! Yet, here you are, SNOGGING with me in the astronomy tower, THINKING of kissing LILY EVANS!" James's head was whipping around in every which way; making sure that no one heard what Michelle was saying.  
  
"Michelle," James said in a hushed tone. "Please. Don't tell anyone. I don't want her to know." Michelle looked him in the eye, and laughed. Bitterly. Hollowly. "Not tell her? James, I'm going to make sure that every one in Hogwarts knows that Playboy Potter is in love with one of the biggest bitches in all of Hogwarts." And before James could defend Lily, Michelle had stalked out of the tower with her cloak billowing behind her.  
  
James lay back on his elbows and groaned. This is not supposed to happen. Now Lily was going to know that he liked her, and.oh this is NOT going well! James groaned again. Now Lily was never going to talk to him again. He was going to lose what relationship he did have with her faster than Peter can eat anything that contains chocolate.  
  
James slowly got up from the floor, dusted his clothes off, and headed out towards the Gryffindor common room. As James was thinking, and not paying attention to where he was going-why should he? He knows these halls almost better than anyone else does. He walked into someone. A female someone. James shook himself out of his reverie, and looked down at the person on the floor. It was Lily. James smiled in spite of the fact that tomorrow she would-in his mind- be running away from him whenever she saw him.  
  
James offered her a hand to get up, and said, "Need a hand?"  
  
Lily looked up to see who had asked her that. She had been a little preoccupied with her thoughts, and hadn't even noticed the fact that she needed help getting up off of the cold, hard, dirty floor. Lily smiled into James's eyes. This was the reason she was thinking. She had been looking for him. Lily took James's hand in hers and pulled herself up. "Hello." She said.  
  
James grinned at her. He didn't know why, but he did. "'Lo Lily." He replied. Lily looked at him from the corner of her eyes. "Fancy a walk around the castle before going back to Gryffindor?" she asked. James nodded and held out his arm to her in a gentlemanly manner. Lily giggled, and looped her arms through his as they began their journey through the many passages of Hogwarts.  
  
Lily took a deep breath, and asked what had been on her mind since the train ride. "James," she said with a quaver in her voice. "How-what-who-no, what do I mean to you?" James looked at her with a shocked expression, and wondered if she had run into Michelle in the past five minutes. "W-What do you mean? You're my friend Lily." Oh god. If only you knew how much I love you Lily. James said silently, although wishing with all of his heart that he could say those words out loud. James glanced at Lily, just in time to see the expression on her face. It wasn't what he expected to see at all. James had expected to see gratitude, or pleasure, or-or-or something other than what was on her face now. She looked crestfallen. Like maybe-maybe she wanted me to say that I'd liked her as a girl. Not a friend.  
  
"Lily? What do I mean to you?" James asked her in return.  
  
Lily had stopped walking, and was looking straight into his eyes. She seemed to be searching for something. Some kind of sign. But what? Lily glanced away, and her gaze focused on a painting of the stars reflected off of the ocean. Lily nodded to that picture, and waited for James to redirect his attention there. "You know," she started. "I have always loved the sea. The moods of it. I was once told by someone who was very wise, but very young told me that I was a human replica of the ocean. My moods have always changed without a warning. Just like the Ocean can change from smooth and gentle to ferocious and rough. But, just like the sea, I'm easy to fall in love with. That people could become entranced just looking at me. Like I was putting some kind of spell on them. But she never said once that an ocean could love. Yet, when you think about it, love is something at nourishes. The ocean does nourish. It takes care of all of the animals that live within its depths. I realized recently, that I am exactly like the ocean. I nourish, but I haven't loved yet, not that way. Not the way a woman loves a man. But-" Lily said, her voice cracking. "But I think that- that I'm beginning to."  
  
"Lils?" James asked. "What are you trying to say?" James knew that if she said that she loved someone else, that he'd be broken, and nothing would ever be able to put him back together.  
  
"I guess," she got out before she paused to take a deep breath in. "I guess what I'm trying to say." She looked in his eyes at this point. "That I think that I'm in love. That the ocean has finally found a way to show the world that even elements can love. Through me. James, I-I-I Love y-y-you." Lily stuttered, then immediately fainted as soon as she said those three words.  
  
James saw Lily start to sway, and quickly placed her in his arms, and quickly made his way to the Hospital Wing to see Madame Hummings.  
  
Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God. Lily Evans loves me! I can't believe it. Lily loves me! James thought with a dreamy smile on his face. The girl that he loved returned the feeling. Life was great.  
  
And tomorrow, everybody would know about his love for this beautiful flower that lay in my arms. James thought. I wish that I could tell the world, show the world what she does for me, how she makes me feel like a better man, as if I can do anything when she is around me.  
  
James walked through the doors of the Hospital Wing, and laid Lily down on the nearest unoccupied bed, and went over to knock on Madame Hammings door. "What is it Mr. Potter?" the elder medi-witch asked as she pulled on a robe over her nightgown. "Why are you here after curfew?" she asked again. James smiled charmingly at the elderly lady, and replied. "It's Lily. She was in the Gryffindor Common room talking to us guys, and she, well, she just fainted." James flashed the witch a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts and continued. "And I was hoping that with your wondrous skills, that you could take time out of your busy schedule to I don't know, maybe revive her?"  
  
The medi-witch walked over to the bed that James had laid Lily upon, pointedly ignoring the sarcasm in James's voice, and pointed her wand at Lily, saying, "enervate" (A/N: I'm not sure if I spelled that right.), and Lily's eyes slowly fluttered open and gazed into the eyes of the stern medi- witch. "What in the world did I do this time?" Lily whispered, more to herself than the medi-witch, but was neverless heard. "You my dear fainted. Now I suggest you eat this chocolate and be back on your way to the Ravenclaw house now." The nurse said, handing Lily a piece of chocolate and shooing Lily and James out of the Hospital quarters.  
  
Lily huffed in indignation, and took a bite out of the chocolate, then out of habit, gave the rest to James, who finished the Chocolate frog within two bites. "Lily," James started nervously. "About what you said before you fainted." Lily stopped and looked at James sharply, just remembering that she had just told him those three words that are hard for some to say. "Well, I have been wanting to tell you something too. I, well, I actually NEED to tell you something. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure that the guys are going to do something very unpleasant to me. Oh sorry, babbling." James said when he caught the impatient look that Lily gave him. "What I was trying to say before I got carried away with the thoughts of what Remus and Sirius might do to me is that I love you Lily. I love you."  
  
Lily gasped, and tears were visible in her eyes. "Oh, James." Lily cried as she launched herself into James's embrace. "I never thought," Lily sobbed into James's shoulder. "I never knew that I'd be able to love, and have someone love me in return. Now, now I do."  
  
Lily lifted her head up off of James's shoulder, looked into his eyes, and was startled to see the shimmering of tears in them. She lifted her right hand, and brought it up to cradle James's cheek. "I love you," she whispered as she raised herself on her toes, and brought her face closer to his.  
  
James, moved his head down the remanding space between him and Lily, and gently rested his lips against hers. They were as soft as a rose's petal, and felt as warm as the sun's rays.  
  
Lily felt James's tongue trace the outline of her mouth, silently asking for entrance. Her mouth parted, and his tongue swept in to explore the hidden wonders of her mouth. James was so gentle while kissing her, tiny nibbles on her lips, the gentle playing with her own tongue, just everything, everything was as if it was a dream. A dream that was going past Lily's eyes in slow motion.  
  
Lily's hands fisted in James's hair, while his hands slipped under the gray wool sweater that Lily was wearing, and both groaned at the contact of flesh on flesh. James drew back, gasping for air, delighted to see that Lily was in the same position, and was just about to go back for more when, "Excuse me for the interruptions Mr. Potter, Ms. Evans, but I do believe that it is past the 6th years curfew by now." Came the strict voice of Professor McGonagall. "Yes, Minnie, it is. 20 points from both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw for being out past curfew, and another 10 points each for public display of emotions. Now Mr. Potter, I suggest that you take your girlfriend back to her tower and get back to your own." Came the voice of the most hated teacher at Hogwarts, Professor Pottleburn. The only thing stopping them from getting a detention was the fact that McGonagall was with him. "Yes, Professors." James said. "Sorry, Professors." Lily replied hurriedly, not wanting to be around the creepy Professor Pottleburn any longer.  
  
James and Lily rushed towards the Ravenclaw tower, and stopped at the statue of a pile of books. "James?" Lily asked, as she was about to say the password. "Hmmm?" he asked while he was gazing at her. "Does this mean.err.are we.ummm what I'm trying to say is.are we." James smiled at Lily's discomfort at bringing this up. "Yes," he whispered, as if he too was scared that if he said it out loud that it'd be lost forever. "We are together now. And hopefully, hopefully forever more." James leaned down and gave Lily a lingering kiss before walking back towards the Gryffindor Common room. Lily smiled, gave the statue the password, "Literature" and drifted up to her dorm room, fell happily on her bed with a satisfied sigh, and fell asleep with thoughts of James on her mind.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: There, that is finished. That Chapter took me a while to do, but I hope that you enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think about it by reviewing, or emailing me at aradia21@hotmail.com. Thank you for reading, and thank you for all of your reviews.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	8. The New Discoveries

Disclaimer: I don't own Lily, James, Sirius, Hogwarts, Peter, Remus, Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid, or Professor McGonagall. And all of the other people from the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling does.  
  
  
  
Chapter 8-  
  
  
  
  
  
The New Discoveries  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Later that night  
  
"Shh. Don't wake them up you idiot!" hissed a familiar sounding female voice to Kayla's ears. "Sorry! It's not my fault we decided to keep this quiet, now is it?" hissed another familiar sounding voice, but this one being a male, and was clearly irritated.  
  
'Who is that?' Kayla thought, bothered by the fact that she couldn't figure out who these two people were, and she really didn't fancy the idea of getting out of the nice, warm haven of her blankets and into the frigid air of the castle just to satisfy her mind. It was just simply too cold to do so.  
  
"What are you doing here anyways?" the mysterious female voice whispered, and was followed by the creaking sound of someone sitting on a bed. "I wanted to see if you could be as quiet as you claim you could be dearest." The male voice drawled. Kayla heard a giggle, and in response, Kayla rolled her eyes. 'I so do not want to hear this.' Kayla thought as she covered her ears with the other pillow that was not presently cradling her head.  
  
Faint moans and groans could be heard through the many feathers and layers of cloth, and made their way to Kayla's eardrums. She groaned in frustration. 'I'm never going to be able to get back to sleep.' Her mind yelled. But regardless of her minds warnings, she tried. And to her later amazement, she succeeded.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next morning  
  
Aria stretched her limbs as she slipped out of her bed, but as soon as her bare feet touched the stone floor, she swung her body back onto the bed and covered her body with the blankets. 'The floor is always too bloody cold in this place!' she thought. Aria stretched again, and winced as pain flooded through her limbs in places that have never had pain before.  
  
Aria steeled herself, took a deep breath, and swung her legs back over the side of the bed, and despite her best efforts, yelped out loud. But, she still got out of bed, snatched up her clothes, and rushed towards the showers.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lily awoke with a smile on her face by the sound of someone yelping. Lily flipped herself onto her back, and stared at the canopy, the muffled sound of the shower running in the background. 'I'm in love with James Potter, and he loves me back! Can life get any- wait. I am not going to jinx myself. Not this time.' Lily thought to herself.  
  
She had jinxed herself so many times in her life already that she could out number how many girlfriends all of the Marauders have had put together-and that is saying a lot, considering Sirius has a new girlfriend every other day. And she rarely ever caught herself saying something that would jinx herself until it was already said. Lily's mother, Kara Evans, always said that it must be one of her hobbies, jinxing herself. 'She's probably right, and I just don't know it.' Lily mused to herself with a small smile.  
  
Lily heard whoever was in the shower emerge, and without thinking, she leapt out of her bed, and yelped in surprise at the coldness. Aria, who turned out to be the one in the shower, laughed and shook her head.  
  
Every morning, Lily did the same thing. She was so used to the tropic weather of Italy during the summer that she always forgot how cold it got in Scotland, and she'd fling back her covers and jump onto the freezing cold floor, and would glare at whoever happened to laugh at her idioticies. This morning didn't seem to be any different.  
  
Lily grumpily picked up the same uniform that Aria was wearing off of her dresser- Black pin straight skirt that stopped two inches before the knee caps, sky blue and black stripped tie, a white oxford pressed shirt, and a dark gray sweater with the Ravenclaw colors on the edges (The reason that it is so hard for guys to see what a female's body looks like in the uniforms is because of the robes that they must wear over their uniforms.), and stalked off to the bathroom and slammed the door shut, and like always, woke up Kayla and Tiffany.  
  
"Erugh. Doesn't she ever learn to just wear SOCKS to bed? Jesus, we've been here six freaking years, you'd think that idiot of a friend would learn!" Kayla moaned into her pillows.  
  
Aria chuckled. "You know that you love her predictableness in the mornings. It's what helps make Hunter, well.Hunter." Aria shot back with a cheeriness that had Kayla glaring at her. "How can you be so bloody cheerful at." Kayla asked as she looked at the clock. "Bloody hell! 7:15 in the morning? What the hell is wrong with you people?! It's too damn early. I'm going back to bed." Kayla complained. "Oh no you're not." Aria shot back. "If you go back to bed, we'll never be able to wake you up. You can sleep like the dead in the mornings. You know that." Kayla narrowed her eyes at Aria's reflection on the mirror, but neverless, propped herself on the head board and watched Aria fumble with her tie for five minutes before she finally said, "Stupid tie!" in frustration.  
  
Kayla sighed at her friend, and slowly walked over to where she stood and stepped in between her and the wall to do her tie. "How is it," Kayla mused out loud as she rightened the length of the tie. "That you have been wearing these repugnant things for six years now, and you still don't know how to put a tie on- in any way?" Aria shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant way as Kayla correctly finished the tie with a flourish that Aria admired.  
  
Kayla eyed her friend with interest as she stepped back. She looked different today. It was almost as if she.glowed. From the inside out. Her eyes had this light about them that she had never seen there before. It was almost as if she was a different person. Then, it dawned on her. The moans, the female voice. 'Oh my God! Aria had sex!'  
  
Lily walked out of the bathroom, uniform on except for her robes and her heels and her hair swept up a ponytail like the three girls always had their hair during classes. "Tiff, you take your shower first. I'm not ready yet."  
  
Tiffany looked over at Kayla with interest, but shrugged her shoulders dismissively, picked up her clothes, and went to take a shower. Successfully leaving Kayla, Lily, and Aria alone in the dorm room.  
  
"Who was it?" Kayla asked, as always, being blunt with her questions. The two remaining girls' heads turned in her direction, one with confusion on their face, and the other with shock.  
  
"What do you mean who was it? You know perfectly well that I haven't had any sex since my break up with.Alexander Cameron at the end of last year." Lily said, confused. Kayla shook her head, as if to say "I know that you idiot" and pointed at a shocked Aradriana.  
  
Lily's jaw dropped. ' Oh my God. Aria.sex.no way!' Lily's mind screamed at her. "Oh my God." Lily managed to get out. Then, as if realizing her intelligence drop, demanded, "Who?"  
  
Aria turned a dark shade of red before she mumbled out an answer, but even Kayla, who barely stood a foot away from her couldn't hear her, so Lily, who was sitting on her bed putting her shoes on about five feet away, defiantly couldn't hear her.  
  
"Sorry," Lily said as she stood up. "Didn't catch the name of him the first time around." She finished as she made her way towards the other two girls and stopped before Aria.  
  
"It was Rehemaus."  
  
Kayla and Lily exchanged a glance, and Kayla was just about to ask again when- "OH MY GOD!! REMUS! YOU HAD-MUBPH!" Lily screamed, but was soon quieted down by the appearance of a pale hand flattened on her mouth. Lily glared at the hand, stepped back, but did in fact quiet down. "You.and Remus.how.and are you going to say anything?!" Lily demanded of Kayla, who stood there with astonishment written all over her face. While Kayla might not still be a virgin, she hasn't had nearly as many guys -which isn't that much- as Lily has, but she was still shocked to know hat the "angel" of the group had been a participant in something very naughty last night.  
  
"How? Wait, no, I don't want to know how you did it, but how you came together." Kayla finally managed to squeak out, sounding a little bit like a mouse.  
  
Aria looked at Kayla and then Lily and sighed. "I don't really know. Our first night- my first time- was two days ago, and he just came to me last night, and I-I-I-I couldn't say anything but yes to him." Kayla snorted, and said, "That isn't the only thing you were saying to him last night." Kayla looked at Aria and smirked. "I heard it all between you and lover boy last night." She said. She had just witnessed two of her best friends groping at each other. 'How can anybody enjoy sex?' Kayla thought to herself. Then her eyes narrowed as a afterthought crossed her mind. "He is treating you right, isn't her?" she demanded.  
  
Aria smiled and nodded. Kayla had always been overly protective about guys when they had became lovers with Lily all the time.  
  
While Lily didn't have many lovers, she has had quite an expansive knowledge on sex. More than Kayla or Aradriana themselves. Lily would always come in after sex, and tell them about it. The funny thing is though, she had never, not once, said that it was anything besides sex. She never used any other term for it. And she never came back with the dreamy, satisfied smile that Aria seems to have after sex. She looked as if she could just fall asleep.  
  
'Hmm.' Aria thought. 'I'll have to ask her about that later. Now that I know what I'm talking about.' She finished with a glance towards her friend, whom was looking out the window with this dazed look in her eyes.  
  
Tiffany came out from the bathroom, and collected her books for the day, and left them in a pile on her desk, then sat down on her bed.  
  
Kayla went over to her part of the room, swiped up her clothes, and went into the bathroom to get ready for the day.  
  
"Aria." Lily said. "This is just her way of dealing with all of this. She doesn't know what to do." Aria looked into her friends eyes with a grateful expression, then went back to getting ready.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"What do we have today anyways?" Kayla asked. Lily thought about it, and answered with, "Charms first, Potions second, and C.o.M.C last." Aria's brow furrowed in thought. "Didn't we have potions yesterday?" she asked. Kayla shook her head and said, "No. That was Herbology that you're thinking about." Aria's mouth made an O shape, but she still looked confused. Lily and Kayla shook their heads at their friend in amusement.  
  
As the girls walked towards their normal seats at the Ravenclaw table, the saw that the three Marauders were already in attendance. The girls walked over to them, Aria making her way on the opposite side of the table to sit next to Remus, and Lily and Kayla walking on the other side of the table. Lily sat to the left of James, and Kayla sat on the right side of Sirius.  
  
James looked over at Lily and kissed her cheek as she sat down. "'Morning beautiful." He said as he swung his free arm around her waist and resumed eating. "'Morning." She replied as she began to pile food on her plate. At this morning exchange, the other four friends raise their eyebrows in speculation. "Is there something you'd like to tell us?" The four of them said at once.  
  
James and Lily looked at each other with mischievous glances, and Lily answered, " As a matter of fact, yes, there is something we do want to tell you." Lily said as she took a bite of her pancakes. James was having a hard time keeping himself from grinning. ' Lily is going to hurt me for this, but it's too good to pass up.' "You see," James started. "Lils and I here, well, we're about to be parents in about eight months." James said with a solemn look.  
  
Sirius's, Kayla's, Remus's, and Aria's eyes got as round as the plates that their food was on, and their jaws became slack with shock. This was not what they had been expecting! Lily on the other hand, wasn't shocked, but was glaring at her new boyfriend. Lily raised her right hand, a cuffed him in the back of the head. "That is not funny James!" she hissed at him, barely loud enough for the rest to hear her. When they heard this, they all exhaled in relief, and the immediately glared at the new couple.  
  
Lily noticed this, and put her hands up to ward the glares off. "Sorry." She said, stressing the o sound. "But, we are dating as of last night." Groans of "finally" and "Thank you God" could be heard. Lily and James looked around coyly. Lily's eyes bright as emeralds, and James' sapphire eyes twinkling with merriment. "We weren't that bad, were we?" they asked innocently. Their friends shot them both looks that clearly stated, "oh yes you were" . James and Lily looked at each other sheepishly and laughed. They knew that they were probably both worse than their friends implied.  
  
"Now, was that so hard?" Remus asked with a smirk.  
  
Lily noticed that his arm was a little too far away from his body to be anywhere on him, and gave her own little smirk.  
  
"No, actually it wasn't." Lily said, then grinned evilly at Remus and Aria. Aria gasped, reading Lily's intentions on her face, and narrowed her eyes at her friend.  
  
"Now that you know that it is easy, do you have an explanation for your escapades-is that what you'd call them Pounce?" Lily asked slyly. Kayla getting interested in this play, shook her head and replied, "Oh no, I'd call it something like traveling to another world." Lily gave a light laugh, ignoring the murderous glare of Aria, and the confused one's of the boys and looked back at Remus. "Anyways," she started. "What is your explanation for being in our dorm, in the middle of the night, and making poor Aria here wake up to go on this journey to another world with you?"  
  
What Lily was talking about must have became clear to Remus, because he was redder than a turnip.  
  
"So," Kayla asked. "Do you guys care to tell us why this secret relationship must be kept away from your best friends?"  
  
"Uhh.ummm.we.we.ummm." Remus said, looking at Aria pleadingly. "We just wanted to uhhh." Aria said. "Keep this to ourselves for awhile. You know, to fully savor the.new bonding that we have been sharing." James and Sirius's mouths were hanging open in shock, as they finally figured out where all of this was going, and Kayla and Lily, both who happened to be chewing at the moment, raised their eyebrows in a manner that screamed amusement.  
  
Aria blushed crimson, just realizing what she had just said.  
  
"It's okay Aria," Lily said as soon as she swallowed. "I just couldn't let an opportunity like this pass. You know how I am. No more teasing you about this, promise." She said. Aria gave a shy smile to Lily, and then turned to Kayla with an expectant look. "Fine then!" Kayla said in a huff when she saw her friends look. "Take the fun out of everything why don't you?" then in a softer tone, she said, "No more teasing you on this subject, Air. Promise." Aria nodded her head and gave a brilliant smile to her friends and went on eating.  
  
James and Sirius, who seemed to have just came back to the planet called Earth, grinned devilishly at each other, then looked at Remus.  
  
Aria, Kayla, and Lily happened to see these grins, all said, "Oh no."  
  
Remus looked at them, then at Sirius and James, and jumped out of his chair, and after a little peck on the cheek for Aria, and a quick "See you during Charms," he fled the Great Hall.  
  
James and Sirius took a page from Remus's book, and kissed the girls sting next to them- unfortunately for Sirius, that was Kayla, and he got elbowed in the stomach regions, and then fled the Great Hall also in search of their friends so that they could start their taunting.  
  
The three girls all thought, "Poor Remus," finished their breakfast, picked up the boys' books and headed towards the Charms classroom. 


	9. Charming Yea Right

Disclaimer: I don't own James, Lily, Remus, Sirius, or Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall, and the other people that you have read about in Harry Potter Series.  
  
Chapter 9- Charming? Yea right.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Charms Class  
  
"Right," Professor Flitwick said to the class as he climbed up to the top of his normal stack of books. "Please settle down. Class has begun." Just then, James, Sirius, and a flush looking Remus bolted through the door, and immediately came to a screeching halt. "Sorry we're late Professor. We couldn't find our-" Sirius trailed off as he noticed three sets of books being levitated in the air. "Well, then, it seems as if we just found the books we were looking for. Sorry for the disturbance." Remus said, he too noticing the books. "Quite all right boys, now if you'd please take your seats, and not start trouble for today, we'd be fine."  
  
The boys made it over to the section that the girls had situated themselves in, and sat down. "You could have left our books you know." James hissed as he sat down next to his girlfriend. Lily smirked and replied, "And what, miss out on the fun?" James opened his mouth to reply, but Lily put her finger against his lips to quiet him.  
  
James looked down at the finger, and then smiled. He opened his mouth just a fraction of an inch, so that he could take her finger into his mouth, but before he could do so, he heard a word that made his blood run cold "- animagus."  
  
James shot a quick glance towards Sirius and Peter, and quickly glanced back at the Professor. That was when he noticed that Lily had gone stock- still. He narrowed his eyes at her. 'What the hell. Hmmm.I wonder.' James thought. "Lils." James hissed. She snapped out of her trance, and titled her head in an angle that made it look like she was watching the Professor, but her eyes were on James. "What's he talking about?" James whispered to her. Lily turned her attention back to the Professor, and whispered back, "The spell that determines what animagus you are."  
  
'Oh, SHIT!' James thought. You see, with this spell you can be able to find out what animal you would be if you were to attempt to become an animagus, but if you had already became one, it shows you when you transform, step by step. Meaning, that the entire class would be able to see you in your human form, then your animal form. 'This is so bad.' seven people thought as Professor Flitwick continued.  
  
"The incantation for this spell is 'revealio transformustia'. And the wrist movement is the same twirl and swish that you use in the emotion charm that we did at the end of last year. Right then, go ahead, partner up and practice." Flitwick finished in his squeaky voice.  
  
James turned to Sirius to form a group, whilst Lily turned to Kayla. "What are we going to do?" Lily hissed at the same time Kayla groaned this out. Lily exhaled and sighed. "We fail?" Lily suggested in a whisper. Kayla shook her head. "I can't afford to do so in this class, you know that." Aria leaned over from her spot with Tiffany, and whispered in a frightened voice, "Any ideas?" Lily and Kayla looked at her and shook their heads in defeat. Boy were they in for it now.  
  
"We are going to be thrown into prison. I'll never see me mum again!" Peter cried. "I don't wanna go to prison. I'm too young to have my soul taken away." He continued. "Peter! Shut up! There has too be a way around this spell! There's a way around almost ALL spells." James said agitatedly. Sirius sighed and noticed that the Professor was looking over at them, watching their moves. "We have to at least try. The Professor is looking at us, and might come over if we don't do something. I mean we don't-" just then he got cut off by a cry of- "I got it!" from Lily.  
  
James, Remus, Sirius, - Peter was too busy complaining that his life was over and he was going to spend the rest of his days in jail- Kayla, and Aria all looked at Lily with questioning gazes. Lily, unaware that the boys were listening to her every word intently, whispered loudly enough so that it would reach Aria, but also in doing so she ensured that James could hear her. "Are we mages or not? (A/N: I'm sorry for the cliché, but I couldn't think of anything else!) I mean, all we have to do is summon a vision of an animal and we have it!" Lily exclaimed in a hushed but excited voice.  
  
James's mouth dropped open. 'They're animagus! And they're mages too? Jesus things just get creepier and creepier.' James mused and then quickly turned back to his friends to tell them about his "idea". (Oh, did I forget to mention that James and his friends were mages also?)  
  
"Wait, what's the spell?" Sirius asked as they readied to do the spell.  
  
'Ooops.' James thought. 'Didn't think about that one.'  
  
James looked at his friends with a sheepish smile, and turned towards Lily and her friends to see if he could somehow learn what the incantation was. He couldn't. They were all whispering under their breath, and moments later, a white jaguar with Lily's emerald eyes appeared over Lily's head, and James's eyes nearly popped out of his head.  
  
Next, a white Tiger with gray eyes appeared over Kayla's head. Sirius happened to see this, and his jaw skimmed the floor.  
  
And lastly, a white fox with sky blue eyes formed over Aria's head. Remus's eyes narrowed.  
  
'I've seen that creature before!' ran through the boys' minds.  
  
The guys shook themselves out of their stunned states when they heard Professor Flitwick give his praises to the girls.  
  
James steeled himself and tapped Lily on the shoulder. This was going to require a lot of explaining later. But, none of the Marauders could afford to lose ANY points in this class. To put it nicely, they all sucked big in this subject.  
  
Lily looked at James and raised an eyebrow in question at him. "That spell. What was it?" he asked her. Lily's brow furrowed in confusion. For some reason, to her it sounded as if he had a different enchantment in mind. "It's," she started with a confused look still on her face. "'revealio transformustia'." James shook his head and said, "The one you used." Lily's face contorted in shock. James chuckled lightly. "I'll explain later. The spell please." Lily blinked at him in astonishment. 'How in all hell did he know that that was a different spell!' "Alright," Lily exclaimed, somewhat reluctantly. "It's 'projectium transfomrus animigusliam' and make sure you pronounce it exactly like that or it works exactly like the revealing charm." She said. James nodded and turned back to the others and replayed the message.  
  
"Lils!" Sirius whined. "Help me!"  
  
Lily giggled at the childish voice, stood up and walked in between Sirius and James. She looked at Remus and Peter and asked, "Are you guys in need of this too?" Peter nodded, and Remus looked thoughtful. "Remus, you don't. You don't transform on will. Peter, I want you to stress the 'ium on projectium, the o and u in transfomrus and the slia on animigusliam. Got it?" he nodded his head. "Try it." He did, and a misty figure of a rat- a very fat rat- appeared. Lily raised her right eyebrow in speculation. 'Hmmm.' She thought, then turned back to Sirius and James while the Professor awarded Gryffindor five points for Peter's success.  
  
"Okay," Lily said. "You two would be different, considering what you two are. Yes, I do know. Now, as I was saying. All you do is twirl your wand as soon as you start the first syllable for projectium-pronounce it naturally- all of it- and then swish down after you finish s sound in transfomrus. Got it?" they both nodded, and tried it. Within seconds, two thinking bubble type of things appeared above their heads. One held a dog that resembled the Grim to every detail, the other pictured at white stag. "Congratulations Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, excellent work! Twenty points to Gryffindor for your efforts." Professor Flitwick exclaimed in glee. This had to be the largest amount of people who had ever been able to do this spell with out so much practice.  
  
Suddenly, Remus gasped. Apparently he had also said the spell - the teachers way- because above his head was a replica of a monkey.  
  
His friends - James, Sirius, Kayla, Lily, and Aria laughed. You'd think that a monkey would be the form most suiting for Sirius, not Remus.  
  
Remus scowled. He did NOT ever want to become a monkey. Ever. Even if he was able to, he never wanted to be a monkey. Too much energy if you asked him.  
  
"I'll trade you." Sirius said, also scowling. He had always wondered what it was like to be a monkey. And if you asked him, they had the perfect life imaginable. All you had to do all day is sit in a tree - or swing in a tree, it's your choice, and eat bananas. Now that is the life.  
  
Remus just scowled more, over looking the fact that he had just gotten ten points for his house.  
  
"Don't worry Remus." Kayla said, a smirk coming into her voice. "Yea, don't worry Remmie," James said, his voice mocking. "You'd be a boring monkey. You'd just sit there doing nothing. And those things are so icky!" James finished off with a female voice. Lily bopped him upside the head. "If you're going to do a females shriek, do it right." She demanded.  
  
James looked at her, his face etched with innocence. Lily, a sucker for this face, bent down and chastely kissed him on the lips. "oooooh." Chimed through the group of friends, with a cry of, "I'm the godfather," from Sirius, and "I'm calling godmother," from Kayla. James and Lily looked at each other, and shook their heads. "You know," James said. "You'd think that by now they'd have grown up."  
  
Lily cocked her head to the side, and stated, "Nah. Life'd be to boring if they grew up any time soon."  
  
A round of insulted "HEY!" s went around.  
  
"Yea, I guess you're right." James said, a grin on his face.  
  
"You guess I'm right?" Lily said, astonished. "James, honey, I'm always right."  
  
Kayla laughed. "Hunter, sorry to tell you, but no. You're not always right."  
  
Lily mustered up an insulted expression, and came back with, "Name on time I was wrong!"  
  
There was a course of, "Well."  
  
"There was that one time that you said that a phoenix can only live for two days before you have to get a new one," Aria said with a smirk on her face.  
  
"A mishap of information." Lily replied tartly.  
  
"There was also the time that you said that all ghosts were mean." Tiffany piped up.  
  
Lily scowled. "I didn't say that. Kayla did after Peeves attacked her."  
  
"Oh." Was the reply that she got.  
  
"Or the time that you said that you'd never date anyone with the last name Potter, and the first name James." Kayla smirked.  
  
Lily turned red, and tried to think of a come back.  
  
James had perked up at that last comment. "Oh, and when was this. Correct me if I'm wrong, Lily dear, but it seems as if we happen to be dating now, doesn't it?" James said to get a rouse out of her.  
  
Lily bit the inside of her bottom lip and looked at him innocently. "Ooops." She said in a coy voice.  
  
The group of friends looked at her weirdly, and all opened their mouths to ask what sort of answer that was, but the bell had rung and the Professor had dismissed the class, calling out that homework for tonight was to practice the charms if you had not already perfected it in class.  
  
"Have you ever wondered why they call Charms a class?" Sirius pondered as they began to walk to their next class together. "I mean, charm is something that you turn on when you want something. Do you think that this class wants something?" Kayla looked at Sirius with a pitying look, while the rest tried to figure out what the hell he was talking about. All they got out of that was headaches, and they found out that you should never try to figure out something that Sirius says. It always leaves you with a migraine the size of Massachusetts.  
  
"Sirius," James asked as they began to walk down to the dungeons of Hogwarts. "How do you know anything about charm?"  
  
Sirius looked at him as if he was crazy. "I am the most charming man in this school, or did you forget that?" he asked, acting as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"You, CHARMING? Yea, right." Five people chorused.  
  
"I think that he's very charming." Came the small voice of Tiffany.  
  
"Yea, after all, he does get a lot of girls." Came Peter's voice.  
  
"See," Sirius gloated. "They think that I'm charming."  
  
Lily and Kayla gave him a look that plainly said - to those who knew them- 'and since when have you listened to them?'  
  
Sirius sighed and resignedly asked, "I'm not charming?"  
  
Lily sighed, untangled her hand from James's, walked over to Sirius - who was standing on the opposite side of James, and threw her arm around his shoulders. "You can be when you wanna be. But you must not be the most charming man in school, or else you'd have already gotten my deprived Pouncy here. If you know what I mean. No offense what-so-ever to your ultra ego." She said for reassurance to Sirius.  
  
Sirius in turn grinned, and replied with, "One of these days I'm going to date her, and then I'll be the most charming man in the UNIVERSE." With that , Sirius practically floated down the rest of the way to potions, momentarily leaving his friends standing in the hallway stunned.  
  
"That is not what I meant." Lily muttered.  
  
"Hunt. I swear to any god that is listening," Kayla started in a dangerous voice. "If that baboon starts making more passes at me, you better sleep with one eye open, cuz I'm going to kill you."  
  
Lily looked at James, and squeaked out, "Help." In mock fear.  
  
"Don't worry my dear lovely Pouncy." Lily shot back, making Kayla narrow her eyes at the nickname. "I know that you'd rather spend your time trying to kill Sirius, so I won't sweat it."  
  
"Lils," Kayla said in a sweet voice.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"Run, and run fast, cuz I'm going to injure you severely."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N:  
  
Hope you liked. Sorry it took me so long to update. I've been getting tons of homework lately. Please review with your comments. Well, arrivederci.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	10. Snape's Crush

Disclaimer: I don't own James, Lily, Remus, Sirius, or Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall, and the other people that you have read about in Harry Potter Series.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: I have just realized that in the beginning of this story that I did say that the Marauders had Potions with the Slytherins, and then I placed them going to Potions class with the girls. Sorry for the misconception. I'm going to say that for now that the 6th year Gryffindors have Potions with the 6th year Ravenclaws for purposes that I don't know of. Now, on with the story  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 10 - Snape's Crush  
  
Kayla and Lily skidded to a stop in front of the Potions room when they saw that Professor Nicklebutt was already waiting at the front of the class. "Ahhh." The Professor said in a mocking tone. "It's nice of you to finally join us Miss Evans, Miss Cameron. Now please, do take your seats, and note that you are the cause of twenty-five points taken from Ravenclaw for your tardiness." The Professor said as she turned her back and went to get some supplies out of her storeroom.  
  
Kayla and Lily glared at the teachers back.  
  
"You know," Lily whispered as they began to walk towards their seats with the boys. "I do indeed think that she has a major case of P.M.S."  
  
Kayla looked at Lily with amusement dancing in her eyes, seeing as the Professor had to be near 60 years old.  
  
"What took you so long?" Remus asked as Lily and Kayla sat down at their table.  
  
Kayla and Lily exchanged amused glances, and opened their mouths to tell when the Professor came stomping back into the class.  
  
"Today," she started, trying to sound mysterious for some reason, and failing miserably. "We will be starting our three month long potion project. The potion that you will be brewing will be for me to decide. You will have to research your potion, make it, display it to the class, and hand in a 20-foot essay on the potion itself. You will be given a outline that you will follow as soon as I assign the partners and the subject itself." Groans were heard from all around the dungeon classroom. Professor Nicklebutt was notorious for her pairings. You always got stuck with a person that you hated.  
  
"Great, now on with the partners." The Professor said with glee.  
  
"Tara Akingison, William Danop; Sirius Black, Kayla Cameron ("NO!" Kayla exclaimed at this. "He's going to kill me. (Referring to Sirius) She's trying to kill me. (Referring to Professor Nicklebutt.)" She kept on muttering under her breath as Sirius grinned and swung his arm over her shoulders.which is how he got the sore arm.) By this time, the Professor had already named a few more partners, and continued doing so, ignoring the death glares from many of her students. "Lily Evans, James Potter (At which their mouths go slack. She paired them together!); Remus Lupin, Aradriana Williams; Michelle Upitey, James Sidewell."  
  
The Professor looked up, contented to see that many faces were contorted in anger.  
  
"You know," Lily whispered leaning towards Kayla. "This teacher is really demented. She lives off of other peoples hatred." Kayla glared at her friend, most likely pissed off that she got to do a THREE-MONTH project with someone who actually WORKED.  
  
"Professor!" a voice carried in from the doorway. Everyone in the class shifted to see a smirking Snape in the doorway. "Professor, you're wanted in the Hospital Wing for the rest of the day. Dumbledore told me to tell you that you are to dismiss your class and come immediately." Professor cracked a smile towards her most prized student, and turned back to the rest of the class with a ministering glare on her face.  
  
"Well, what are you waiting for? You heard Mr. Snape here. Get going!" the Professor demanded.  
  
Without a second thought, the whole class rushed towards the entry, racing to get out of that class as if it held the plague.  
  
The students happily chattered among themselves as they walked around the castle.  
  
"Well," Remus drawled.  
  
"What do we do now?" Kayla asked.  
  
"I know," Lily said with excitement laced in her voice.  
  
Just then, an "Evans! Wait up!" could be heard from behind the group.  
  
Lily slowly turned around, and came face to face with a red Snape.  
  
"What do you want Snape?" James demanded, securing Lily next to his side efficiently.  
  
"I want to talk to Evans Potter. Now, if you'd be so good as to shut that large hole in the middle of your face that you presume is a mouth everything'd be fine and dandy." Snape said sourly.  
  
"What do you want with me?" Lily asked.  
  
"Um.well, you see, I came here to tell you.umm.well, that is that I umm." the boys all of a sudden started to roar with laughter, halting Snape's confession.  
  
Lily stared at the boys with confusion, while Kayla and Aria had shocked and disgusted expressions.  
  
"What?" Lily asked.  
  
"H-he's try-trying to t-t-tell you-" Remus started, but was soon overcome with laughter again.  
  
"H-he l-l-l-l-ikes you." Sirius gasped before he began to shake with laughter again.  
  
Lily gasped, and looked at Snape again, to see that he had turned even redder than he previously was. Which is implying something, as he now looked like a ripe tomato.  
  
Lily then shuddered, goosebumps showing up on her skin. "Ewwww." She exclaimed. "Snape. Never." That was all she said before she pivoted on her right foot, and stomped off in the other direction of Snape.  
  
"Lily! Please, honey, wait. I love you. I can give you everything that you desire. Please, don't leave. Just give me a chance!" Snape called out pathetically as he watched Lily storm down the hallway. All he got in return was a "Go fuck yourself."  
  
James, Remus, Sirius, Kayla, and Aria ran to catch up with a fuming Lily.  
  
"How dare he!" she screeched. "He has no right what so ever to have ANY feelings towards me. According to him, I'm a filthy little mudblood. Now he says that he LOVES me? Oh, that's just rich!" Lily fumed.  
  
"Hunter, honey.no one can resist your charms. After all, you did manage to get me to fall in love with you somehow." James said as he encircled Lily's waist with one of his arms as they began to walk towards the Ravenclaw common room.  
  
"Actually, I'm still wondering 'bout that. Did ya put me under some kind of spell?" James asked.  
  
Lily glared at him.  
  
"Okay, I get it. Not the time to be joking." James said.  
  
The group walked in silence for a few minutes before someone decided to break the tension.  
  
"But did you see his face!" Sirius gushed out.  
  
Lily began to giggle. Then Kayla's shoulders began to shake with suppressed laughter, and Aria, James, Remus, and Sirius all doubled over with laughter that rang all throughout the castle walls. It wasn't long after that Kayla and Lily joined them, clutching their sides in agony.  
  
"Oh, God. My sides are killing me." Lily giggled as she regained her breath again.  
  
"Hmm.too bad we didn't happen to have a camera on us." Lily mused out loud.  
  
"I know." Kayla choked out, still gasping heavily from her laughter. "Imagine reliving that moment for the rest of your life!"  
  
This set off another round of uncontrollable laughter.  
  
It took a few minutes, but eventually the group of friends regained their composure, and continued their walk towards the Great Hall.  
  
"I wonder what he would have done if she'd actually said yes." Sirius wondered out loud.  
  
"Ewwwww." Chorused throughout the group.  
  
"Sirius," Lily said in a disgusted voice. "I do actually have a taste in guys. And believe me, he doesn't fit anywhere on that list."  
  
"Do you now?" James asked slyly. "And just where do I fit on this list?" he asked.  
  
Lily glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and smiled seductively. "Well, to tell the truth, I don't know. For all I know, you could be a horrible kisser, or a horrible-" she started, but was soon cut off by a pair of extremely warm and soft lips on hers, and strong muscled arms latching onto her waist.  
  
Lily moaned as she opened her mouth to James's tongue. 'Merlin, this man sure as hell knows how to kiss.' Lily's mind said as his skilled tongue began to entice Lily's in a little battle before sucking on it, making Lily moan in ecstasy.  
  
Lily moved her hands from their dormant position next to her sides, and slid them up James's chest, over his shoulders, and played with the strands of hair that rested on his nape, the soft strands feeling like water on her fingertips.  
  
James drew back from the kiss, and rested his forehead against hers. "That answer your question?" he whispered, and Lily could feel every syllable on her lips, and shivered as a pure, unmistakable spurt of lust shot through her body, making her shiver.  
  
"Hmmm.maybe." She whispered huskily, nipping at his bottom lip enticingly. "Why don't we give it another try? Just to be safe?" she murmured as she titled her face the rest of the distance between her lips.  
  
The sound of people clearing their throats scared the living daylights out of them, and caused them to both jump simultaneously, and flush a deep scarlet color.  
  
"Right," Lily said and then proceeded to clear her throat. "Lets continue."  
  
James re-took his position at her side, took her hand in his, and leaned towards her and whispered, "Meet me at midnight at the Astronomy Tower. We can put to test your list then." He instructed with a wink in her direction.  
  
Lily smiled at him, and then returned to Kayla who was teasing Lily for the public display of affection, to be able to come up with something that was relatively intelligent to say in defense of her actions.  
  
'I can't wait until midnight.' Ran through Lily's mind.  
  
'Wait until she sees what I have in store for her.' James thought slyly with a loving glance towards his new girlfriend.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Sorry that it took so long to update. I hope to have the next chapter up and out by tomorrow, so we'll see. Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Please do review. Bye for now.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	11. The Midnight Meeting

Disclaimer: I don't own James, Lily, Remus, Sirius, or Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall, and the other people that you have read about in Harry Potter Series.  
  
  
  
Chapter 11 - The Midnight Meeting  
  
  
  
Lily sank into the baths steaming waters with a sigh. 'I wonder what he's going to do tonight.' She wondered for the millionth time since James told her. 'Maybe he'll.hmmm.I don't know. I must be going insane if I can't think of something. I mean come on. This is a sixteen-year-old male we are talking about. There could be only one thing that is on his mind at the moment.' Lily scolded to herself.  
  
Lily sighed again and began to relax. It wasn't long before she began to think about James, and smiled.  
  
"Lily! Come on. Get out of the bathroom!" Aria screamed from the other side of the door, efficiently startling her from her daydream.  
  
"Okay. Just give me a few more minutes!" Lily screamed back.  
  
"Just hurry up." Aria grumbled.  
  
Lily sighed and raised herself from the tub and grabbed the towel that she had draped over the towel rack, and wrapped it around her body before she exited the room.  
  
"There. All yours now."  
  
Lily looked up just in time to see Kayla rush for the bathroom door, and the door slam shut in Aria's face.  
  
"What was that about?" Lily asked.  
  
"I don't know." Aria said moodily.  
  
"Help me?"  
  
"With what?" Aria asked in confusion.  
  
"I need to pick out something for tonight." Lily said. "James told me to meet him in the Astronomy Tower tonight, and I need to find something to wear." Aria looked at Lily with interest. "If you tell me all the details when you get back." She bargained. Lily giggled and replied, "Don't I always?" Aria grinned back and walked towards Lily's wardrobe, forgetting to be mad at Kayla for the time being.  
  
"Let's see. something that would be easy to get off, but still seductive." Aria pondered as she started to search through the million pieces of clothes that Lily had in her Armoire.  
  
"I was thinking a skirt and some kind of shirt or something." Lily put in as her friend began to take out dresses, skirts and shirts.  
  
"Maybe. We'll see."  
  
Lily sat down on her bed and watched in amusement as Aria began muttering to herself about colors clashing, or being too sluttish or too modest as she tried to put outfits together.  
  
"I know!" she screamed in excitement, almost startling Lily off of the bed. "Hunt, do you have that baby blue dress that you bought when we went Christmas shopping last year?"  
  
Lily thought about it. "Yea. I haven't worn it yet actually. It's still in the box." She said as she got up and dug around the bottom of her wardrobe in search of the box that contained the dress. "Here." Lily exclaimed as she handed over the box.  
  
Aria snatched up the box and went over to her own wardrobe and flung the door open. Lily observed her lunatic of a friend search through her robes until she came across a long, black leather jacket that was hanging up.  
  
"You have shoes to go with this, don't you?" Aria called over her shoulder.  
  
"Yea," Lily replied, drawing out the a sound.  
  
"Good. Get them out, then try this dress on and we'll see where it goes from there." Aria declared as she pushed the garments into Lily's out stretched arms.  
  
Lily did as she was told, and got out some very.imaginative underwear, and a tan bra that matched her skin color perfectly. She then proceeded to put everything on.  
  
(A/N: I'm trying to explain this all without giving away what the dress looks like. Sorry if this makes it confusing.)  
  
Aria gasped when Lily emerged from behind her bed hangings.  
  
"What?" Lily asked.  
  
"You look-like a temptress." Aria whispered, still stunned.  
  
Lily chuckled at the compliment and looked over at the clock. 11:24 it read.  
  
Lily groaned. 'How am I going to be able to wait another twenty minutes?' she wondered as she walked over to the vanity table and picked up her hairbrush.  
  
"Do you know what you're doing with your hair?" Aria asked coming up from behind her.  
  
"Yea, I do." Lily said, looking at her friend. "Did you have a date with Remus tonight?" she asked suddenly.  
  
Aria blushed and nodded in response.  
  
"Did you want help?" Lily asked as she put her hair up in the desired fashion.  
  
"Would you?" Aria asked. Lily smiled and replied with, "Only if you tell me the details when you get back." Aria giggled and nodded her head.  
  
Lily gracefully got up of the chair and walked over to her friends wardrobe, and gave it a courtesy glance before she shook her head and mumbled something that sounded like, "Schoolgirl clothes" and walked back over to her own closet.  
  
Lily glanced at her clothes, then back at her friend, trying to see what would go with her brown hair and baby blue eyes.  
  
"Ah-ha!" Lily exclaimed in triumph as she spotted a long, white leather skirt that had a slit that ran up practically the whole entire leg, and only stopped on the last two inches of your thigh, and a white, scoop next sweater that showed a little mid-drift, and took them out of their places and showed them to Aria, who in turn looked at them with doubt.  
  
"Lily," she said, her voice tinted with something that Lily couldn't quite place. "You may be able to pull something as daring as that off, but I can't. I'd look like a fool wearing something like that." 'Ahh. She's scared that she won't be able to live up to the outfit.' Lily thought.  
  
"Aria," Lily said with determination laced through her voice. "You'd look like a seductress in this. And you have the body to fill this outfit out to perfection. Think about it, Remus will be worshipping the ground you walk on, begging you to give him anything." Then, Lily whispered, "Wear it."  
  
Aria gave in, knowing that she wouldn't win against Lily, and closed her curtains around her so that she could change in peace.  
  
When she walked out again, Lily grinned, "You look beautiful, but you're still missing something." She mused before she go an idea.  
  
Lily turned back to her wardrobe, and pulled out a long, white coat with a large hood and walked over to Aria, and made her put it on. "There." Lily said in satisfaction. "Now put on those white heels that are in your closet, and you'll be perfect." She exclaimed as she glanced at the clock. It now read 11:49. Lily yelped.  
  
"Will you be okay to finish on your own now?" Lily asked as she put the jacket that Aria had set out for her on, and slipped into the baby blue heels that Lily had put by the bed.  
  
"Yes, go have fun Hunt. And I'll have mine." Aria replied slyly.  
  
Lily shook her head in amazement. 'To believe she used to be the shy one.' Lily thought.  
  
"Pouncer! I'm going out for the night!" Lily yelled and waited for the answer. "Bye!" Kayla yelled back.  
  
Lily grinned and practically skipped down the stairs and all the way to the Astronomy Tower.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
'Where the hell is she?' James wondered as he paced the floor of the Astronomy Tower in frustration. 'She's never late. And it's now.' he stopped to look at his watch. '12:15.' He thought. Just then, James heard a humming that sounded awfully familiar, and then he grinned. 'She's finally here!' his mind sung happily.  
  
James glanced around the room again, making sure that everything in was in order, then faced the stars just as Lily rounded the last corner and came into the room.  
  
"James."  
  
James turned his head, and then stopped. His eyes grew rounder and rounder by the minute, his jaw dropped, and as his gaze rushed frantically over her body, his blood began to rush- no pound- and he became more aroused than he had ever been before.  
  
Lily stood still in front of James, running over his features lovingly before settling her gaze on his eyes, which by this point, had a million different emotions running through them, but one standing out.desire.  
  
Lily began to slowly; each move she made was made to arouse him even more.  
  
  
  
A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. The next chapter may hold a little sex, so be warned. If so, I will write a warning on the top for those of you who don't wish to read it.  
  
Please review with your comments. Thank you. Byes for now.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	12. Heaven on Earth

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns most of these characters, not me.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Chapter 12- Heaven on Earth  
  
Heaven on Earth  
  
"James, love," Lily whispered into his ear as she fitted her body to his perfectly. "Aren't you going to say anything?" she finished with a nip for his ear, and stepped back.  
  
James looked at her, taking in her form that was showed to perfection by a baby blue, halter top, dress that hugged her curves, and ended with a slant starting a few inches beneath the hip, coming to a pointed stop at her left knee. (A/N: Do you get what it looks like?) He then looked in her eyes and hoarsely whispered, "Are you trying to kill me?"  
  
Lily waited until he fully turned around, and closed the distance between them, fitting her body with his. She snaked her arms up James's side, over his shoulder, and laced her fingers in the silken strands of his hair. "Maybe." She whispered into his ear, then proceeded to nibble on it, extracting a passion filled groan from James.  
  
James wrapped his arms around Lily's waist, efficiently trapping her against his body. "Lils," he whispered in her ear, his tongue coming out to give it a lick. "I love you." Was all he said before he tilted her head back, and gently began to brush kisses against her lips.  
  
Lily opened her mouth in expectation, but James paid no heed to the invitation, he trailed his tongue down her neck until he came to the fabric of the jacket, and nipped the skin.  
  
"James." Lily moaned.  
  
James pushed the jacket off of her shoulders, and slid it down her arms so that it was a puddle around her feet now. "Gods, Lil, you-you look fantastic." James murmured in awe as he looked at her.  
  
Lily leaned into him and brought his head down for a kiss. James opened his mouth to give her access, and groaned when she sucked on his tongue. Lily chuckled. 'At least I know I can make him squirm.' She thought as she begun to unbutton the shirt that he was wearing.  
  
James leaned down and kissed her, and she trembled with passion for him. James's hands moved up so that they framed her face gently, and he began sweetly caressing her cheeks with his roughened thumbs from quidditch.  
  
His hands moved from her face into her hair, dislodging the chopsticks from the tresses, and letting the beautiful strands cascade to rest around her shoulders. As the kiss got more passionate, he lowered her to the ground- after laying his robes down first.  
  
Lily's heartbeat began to quicken. 'This is going to be different.' She thought to herself as she felt his lips lave her pulse point, and then take the skin in between his teeth and bite it softly before slowly moving back up to her face.  
  
"Let me have you Lil. Let me have you here." He whispered to her as he brushed his lips against hers, teasing, tempting. Lily groaned out something that resembled a yes, and James's hands moved to the back of her dress in search of the zipper.  
  
"Lil, please. Where's the fucking zipper on this thing?" James begged in sexual frustration.  
  
Lily gave a light chuckle and replied with a husky voice, "It doesn't have one. You just . . . peel it off."  
  
James groaned. "I knew you were out to kill me," he muttered under his breath as his hands slowly climb up her back to the edge of her dress and hooked two fingers around the fabric, and began to slowly dispose her of the dress. 'Why am I torturing myself?' James wondered as he caught himself lovingly gazing at each new area of exposed skin.  
  
When the dress was finally off and laying in a puddle somewhere around the room, he just sat on his haunches and gazed at her. His hands soon started to drift up to take her bra off when all of a sudden Lily grabbed his hand.  
  
"You seem to have me a disadvantage, Mr. Potter," she whispered as she came up onto her knees. "I seem to be well, in almost nothing, while you are fully dressed." She answered to his lifted eyebrow.  
  
"Then why don't you remedy that fact Miss Evans?"  
  
"Hmmm. Why don't I?" she replied as she lifted her other hand, and released his and brought them up to his shirt. She finished the last two buttons, and pushed the fabric off of his shoulders, leaving him to get them the rest of the way off on his own. Her hands then slowly traveled down, lightly grazing his beautifully tanned skin until they came to rest upon his belt.  
  
Lily looked up from where her fingers lay, and looked him in the eyes as she slowly began to undo the belt. "James," she whispered. "I love you." Was all she said as she leaned her head against his shoulder and began to unbutton his pants.  
  
James stood up, and dispensed of his shoes and pants within seconds, then crouched down next to Lily and gently led her back onto the floor of the Tower.  
  
James skimmed his hand up her ribs, and felt the reaction as his hand closed upon a full breast, and lightly began to squeeze. He then lowered his mouth to her chin, and moved down towards her pulse spot again.  
  
The taste of her there, just there along that soft, exposed spot flooded into him, the light taste of peaches that always clung to her skin became imprinted into his memory.  
  
Her fingers dug into his shoulders, trying to pull him closer to her body.  
  
James reached behind her once again and released her bra from her body, and threw it somewhere else around the room, and filled his hands with her.  
  
Strong and domineering, flesh molding with flesh with the cold stones biting into her back, and the primal beat of blood in her veins. For the first time since she began to have sex, she surrendered herself. To him. To the passion that he could give her. Just then, all of her thoughts went flying out of the window, and the only thing she could concentrate on was the young man who was giving her body unexplainable pleasure.  
  
James felt the change in Lily. Her body became softer, and more responsive to his touches.  
  
His hands began to soothe her trembles, only to entice more. With a lazy consideration that sent Lily spinning, he began a long, savoring journey of her body.  
  
Pleasure flickered over her skin, warmed it, and sensitized it. She arched up in approval when he began to take of her panties, and relished in the feel of his hands skimming down her legs. She gasped as he trailed his fingers back up her legs, stopping at the juncture in between, then passing it, trailing up her stomach, and then letting his palms rest on either side of her body, and just looked down at her in all of her glory.  
  
She was gracefully slim and water soft. The line of her neck drew his lips to it. The curve of her breast a enthrallment to him, the taste of it fresh, and all his. Her breath hitched as he closed his warm mouth against her cooling skin.  
  
Need leaped its high head in his stomach.  
  
There was so much more to her. More to taste, more for him to take. As her muscles quivered, his mouth grew more pressing, making her answer every movement with her own.  
  
His tongue brushed over her, and her body jerked in shock, which had his mind rushing with erotic images that he vowed to save for another time.  
  
Want made the air thicken around her, and passion helped build the thickness until it became too hard to breathe regularly, and she had to gasp for every breath. With mouth, teeth, and a wonderfully skilled tongue, he drove her to her peak. She choked out his name as she went spiraling over the cliff.  
  
Her hands gripped his arms, held fast. Heat rushed through her body, leaving a mist of moisture on her skin, scorching through her system until pain and pleasure became one.  
  
Everything within her broke, shattered into a million different pieces. Only to leave her limp and defenseless.  
  
Her cry of release rushed through him, and as her hands went limp and fell off of his arms, he watched her face as he drove her over again. And again.  
  
Her eyes flew open eyes wide from shock, yet blind from pleasure. Her lips trembled as she gasped for breath. The moons loving light danced on her skin as she poured into his hand.  
  
His blood screaming, muscles quivering, he held himself taut over her. "Lily." Her name was the only word that his throat would let him say. She looked at him, struggling to keep her lids open, knowing that that was what he wanted.  
  
He divested of his boxers swiftly, and drove himself deep into her, buried himself in her. Even as his vision began to go dim he held on. The woman, this moment, and his certainty of each. Clinging on to that for another instant, her lowered his head so that his brow rested on hers. "It's always been you," he managed.  
  
Then his mouth took hers in an achingly sweet kiss, just as slow and beautiful as his rhythm.  
  
Tears pricked at Lily's eyes as she began to move with him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Sirius?" a mysterious voice sounded from the charm's hallway. "Are you here?" the mysterious voice sounded again.  
  
"Over here." Came the voice of Sirius Black as he grabbed his companion's hand and dragged her into the empty classroom.  
  
"Gods how I've missed you." Sirius murmured before his lips swooped down to claim his companions.  
  
The girl moaned in delight upon feeling his lips on upon hers, and wrapped her arms around him in ecstasy. 'No one will ever be able to kiss a girl senseless like Sirius,' the girl thought as she responded to the probing to his tongue.  
  
Sirius slowly began to let his hands wander, knowing that this particular girl got a little skittish when it came to men touching her. His hands eventually came to rest on her breasts, gently- carefully, foundling them. When she didn't jump away like she usually did, he slowly slid one of his hands down, only to push up the edge of her shirt once he reached the bottom.  
  
The girl gasped as his hands touched her bare mid-drift, but didn't pull away. She wanted this. She wanted him to touch her.  
  
Sirius, a little startled by her omission, lightly grazed her skin, then coming to rest once again on her breast. His hand began to move, brushing over the oversensitive nipple, causing his companion to gasp with pleasure.  
  
"Sirius, please. Don't rush this." The girl whispered, her voice cracking. Sirius stilled his hands, which had gone to the clasp on her bra, and pulled away.  
  
"How long?" he demanded.  
  
"I dunno." The girl whispered in frustration.  
  
"We've been meeting like this for a year now, and when ever I get so far, you pull back. Why?" he asked accusingly.  
  
"Siri. I-I-I've never had pleasant sexual acts. They've always ended up . . . bad. I'm sorry if . . . well, if I'm making you uncomfortable." The girl whispered in sorrow.  
  
"Are-are you saying that you were . . . raped?" Sirius whispered incredulously.  
  
The girl nodded her agreement.  
  
Sirius stared at her with wide eyes.  
  
"But you-you're so . . . tough!" he ended for the use of a better word.  
  
The girl chuckled and said, "Everybody has a weakness."  
  
Sirius quietly walked up to the girl and pulled her into a sweet embrace. "I'm so sorry." Sirius whispered, for once acting like he was, well . . . Serious.  
  
"Don't you dare blame this on you Sirius Alexandros Black. You didn't even know!" the girl demanded, a fire coming to her eyes that could have melted the Antarctic.  
  
Sirius chuckled in response, and just held her closer. Sometimes it amazed him how much she could read him. It got to be a little creepy at times, but the rest of the time, it came in handy. "I love you," he whispered in the girls ear.  
  
As Sirius was in his own world, he didn't realize what he had just said until the girl turned ridged and pulled away from him.  
  
"I-I-I have to go." She said quickly, and before Sirius could even scream out wait, she was gone.  
  
Sirius knew that there was no use going after her, because she melded into the shadows perfectly, he wouldn't be able to find her.  
  
He sighed and sat down in the seat that she normally sat in during Charms, and laid his head on the desktop, naming all the different ways that he was an idiot.  
  
Yes, for once, Sirius Alexandros Black was admitting to himself that he was an idiot.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"James!" Lily cried out as she climaxed in ecstasy. James groaned and released himself upon feeling Lily reach her peak, and whispered the birth control pill that was taught in fourth year, as he slumped down on Lily, unable to move.  
  
"God." James finally was able to rasp out ten minutes later.  
  
Lily's hands were running up and down James's back, relishing in the tautness of his muscles, even when he was totally sedated they seemed tense. "You can say that again," Lily replied to his earlier comment.  
  
"Sorry," James muttered as he rolled over so that he wasn't squishing Lily with all of his weight.  
  
Lily groaned in disappointment. She had liked the weight of him.  
  
"You know," Lily mused out loud.  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"I have never stayed after being intimate with someone. I've always left before they could say anything again." She confessed.  
  
James looked at her, and with little amusement, asked, "Can I talk yet?" Lily glared at him, then smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. Too content as she was to start arguing. "I don't know, can you?" she asked before she started drifting off to sleep. "I love you James," she mumbled before she fell asleep.  
  
James looked down at the red head that was situated on his shoulders. 'So it is true.' James thought to himself. ' She did leave all of those boys laying half dead all alone. Well, at least I'm different. Hell, she'd have a field day if she knew that I did the same thing with girls.' James silently mused.  
  
James's ears picked up feet coming up the first of many steps that led to the Astronomy Tower, and shook Lily awake. "Lil. Wake up. Someone's coming." He whispered into her ear, efficiently waking her up.  
  
Lily groggily got up off of James, and hurriedly put on her dress and underwear, stuffing her heels and bra inside of the jacket that she picked up. She glanced over at James to see that he had his pants on, and his shirt-which was unbuttoned, and looking extremely delicious if you asked her- and hurriedly putting on his shoes.  
  
James cast a last courtesy glance around the room, and threw the Invisibility cloak around him and Lily, just as the person walked into the room.  
  
It was Snape.  
  
And he looked awfully happy about something.  
  
"Lily, oh Lily." Snape sighed into the night sky. "How I love you so much." At this James tried hard to suppress his laughter, and thank God succeeded, and Lily was making silent gagging noises. (A/N: Mature, aren't they?)  
  
"If only you could see what you do to me, how hard you make me. You'd see then that I could give you more than Potter ever could." He said, spiting out Potter as if it was milk that was three months past expiration date.  
  
Just then, Snape decided to slide his hand down his body and rub himself. "I'd give you more pleasure than you could imagine," he whispered to himself.  
  
"James." Lily whispered at him.  
  
James looked over at Lily to see that she had a disgusted expression on her face. 'I don't blame her.' He thought.  
  
"Lets go! I don't want to see this." Lily whispered in his ear. James nodded, and they slowly began to make their way towards the stairs, then they slowly began to walk down the stairs, making sure not to get trapped in the trick ones in their haste to get away from Snape's moaning.  
  
James walked Lily slowly back towards the Ravenclaw Tower with his arm around her waist.  
  
They walked in comfortable silence until they reached the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room.  
  
Lily turned towards James, making his arm wrap around her back. She brushed her lips against his, and whispered so that he could feel every syllable on his lips, "Sweet dreams my love."  
  
James shuddered, and felt the stirrings of desire again. James bent his head so that his lips rested on hers, and gently opened her mouth with his tongue and kissed her.  
  
"Goodnight," he whispered as he drew back.  
  
"'Night my love." She whispered back before she gave him one more sweet kiss and slipped out of the cover of the Invisibility cloak and said the password to the statue, and with a last glance over her shoulder, sneaked quietly into the Ravenclaw common room, leaving James staring at the spot at which she just was.  
  
James sighed. ' I'm turning into a love sick fool.' He thought in amusement as he begun his journey back to the Gryffindor common room so that he could return to his cold, lonely bed. He sighed again. This is going to take a while to get used to, he mused to himself as he passed the trophy room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: I'm so sorry that it took me so long to get these next chapters up. I really didn't intend to make you guys wait that long. Sorry.  
  
Thank you for all of your reviews, too!  
  
Well, I hope you enjoyed! Please review. Thanks!  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	13. What's with Kayla?

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns most of these characters, not me.  
  
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Chapter 13 - What's with Kayla?  
  
The next morning, was an odd one indeed. You could find Sirius daydreaming, barely touching his food, Aria was sleeping on her plate while Remus rubbed her back, Kayla was scowling and threatening to hex anybody who asked her anything, and James and Lily were in their own little world. A world that involved whispered love words, loving glances, and hidden touches.  
  
All in all, every one seemed out of sorts.  
  
"What time does our class start?" Kayla snapped. "Uh . . . at 8:30, why?" Lily answered. "Because," Kayla replied testily. "It is now 8:25." Lily's eyes widened, and she kicked Aria to wake her up.  
  
Aria woke up with a start, and shot up looking around wildly, then her stare landed on Kayla and Lily picking up their books and got the idea.  
  
"Bye." Two girls shouted, as they started towards the doors that lead outside while the boys headed the other way.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Kayla," Lily snapped as they began their way back to the castle. "What the hell is your problem today?" Kayla glared at her friend and didn't answer. "Kay," Lily said again, sounding very aggravated. "We all know that you have your days, but this isn't one of those days. You've never acted like this before, not that I know of, and I've known you ALL of my life! Now tell goddamn it! What the hell is up with you?" Lily demanded.  
  
Kayla stopped and looked at Lily, and could clearly see the roaring fire that lay behind the emerald shards that happened to be her eyes and cringed. If Lily was this exasperated, no one was going to have a good day. Kayla sighed and braced herself. 'They deserve to know.' She told herself as she said out loud, "You mind skipping History?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Where the hell where they?" Remus fumed out loud.  
  
The boys had just had the most tedious History of Magic lesson in their entire lives, and on top of that, the girls were missing!  
  
The three boys walked out of the History class with attitudes. "I don't know Moony, but they are going to be in so very much trouble once we actually find them!" James growled.  
  
James and Remus began switching ideas about what they could do to the girls once they actually find them, only to stop and look at Sirius oddly.  
  
"Hey, Padfoot." James said.  
  
Sirius looked over at James. "What?"  
  
"Are you okay?" Remus asked.  
  
"Yea, man, you look like you're . . . dreaming." Peter said, getting into the conversation.  
  
Sirius shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way to the Great Hall for Lunch.  
  
The three remaining boys looked at each other then ran to catch up with their insane friend.  
  
"You know," James whispered to Remus as they reached the Great Hall. "If he doesn't stop daydreaming that we could get some interesting stuff out of him."  
  
Remus looked at James with an amused stare and grinned a mile wide. "It's about time we find something to tease him about." He said. James grinned back at him and searched the Great Hall for any sign of the girls. His brows furrowed in confusion. 'Where could they be?' he wondered.  
  
"Where the hell are those three!" Remus shouted, which caused him to get disapproving glances from the teachers' table, and him blush in embarrassment.  
  
"Oops." He muttered as they walked over to the Gryffindor table.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
James sat down at his normal seat, and watched the doors, forgetting about the food that lay in front of him, only interested in finding his girlfriend.  
  
'I wonder where she is,' he thought as he looked through the hall again, just in case. 'Not here.' James looked at Remus, and saw him eating.  
  
"Moony," James said as he got up. "I'm going to go to the lake to see if the girls are there, okay?" Moony nodded in response, seeing as he was chewing at the moment.  
  
James headed outside with only one objective on his mind. To find Lily and the girls.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Sorry that this turned out so short, but I didn't know what to write really. I needed a chapter that would allow me to pass some time in this story.  
  
Please review.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	14. Tiffany and SIRIUS?

Disclaimer: I only own Aria, Kayla, some of the professors, Tiffany, and the plot. All the rest belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
  
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Chapter 14- Tiffany and . . . SIRIUS!  
  
About a month later, which would bring you to around the 10 of October, you could find a group of six in the library studying. Three boys and three girls. And two of these girls appeared to have come attached with male arms around them. Wonder who they are?  
  
James and Lily were researching their potions project along with their friends. And of course, these two had to get the hardest potion to do their report on. They had to research the Love Knowledge Potion. A potion that let its brewer have all the knowledge in love that the world possessed. Sort of stupid if you were to ask these two students. After all, who would want to know everything about love instead of feeling it and experiencing it for themselves?  
  
Remus and Aria had the Forgetfulness potion as their topic . . . the name explains it all. And Sirius and Aria had the Stone Potion. This potion would turn whoever drank it into a statue for one month to five years, depending on how strong you made the potion.  
  
"Does anyone else think that this thing is stupid?" Lily asked frustrated by her lack of research. All she got in return was five stares that read, 'No, we think that this is needed for our intelligence.' Lily looked at them and shrugged her shoulders as if to say 'so, it was just a question' and got back to reading the book that was in front of her.  
  
James smiled to himself as he began reading again. It seemed as if that was all that he could do lately. Smile. And it had everything to do with the girl sitting by his side irritated because she couldn't find anything on their subject.  
  
James moved his arm from around Lily's shoulder, and lowered it in between the space that was made from the back of the chair to her lower back and wrapped his arm around her, slowly rubbing her side.  
  
Lily jumped at the feel of a hand touching her skin - a cold hand at that. She heard at chuckle coming from the right of her, and turned her head that way. Only to meet a pair of sparkling blue eyes watching her. She stuck her tongue out at him and returned her attention back to the aggravating book that continued to give detailed information about every potion you could think of . . . except the Love Knowledge potion. She leaned her head against James's shoulder and yawned. This was so boring.  
  
"Kayla," you could hear Sirius whine from across the table. "Why can't we do this somewhere else? I don't like the library. It has BOOKS! It's creepy. All of these people here to LEARN! Can you imagine that?" he finished with a touch of wonder in his voice.  
  
Lily shook her head and looked around her and sighed.  
  
Here were the people that she had come to love during her years at Hogwarts, and for a few before, all doing the same thing, but different at the same time. 'One of these days, we're going to look back at our time here at Hogwarts and miss these days so much. We're going to crave for the simplicity of Hogwarts every day of our life after we graduate from here.' She mused as she watched Kayla argue with Sirius about why it was easier to do their research in the Library.  
  
"They argue over the stupidest things don't they?" a voice whispered over her ear, sending shivers down her body.  
  
Lily looked up into James's eyes once again and smiled. "Yea. But they wouldn't be Kayla and Sirius if they didn't fight at least fifty times a day." She whispered back. James smiled at her and kissed her forehead then returned to his book, making Lily sigh again, but this time with an air of contentment. 'I'm going to miss these days.' Was all she thought as, once more, she turned her attention to the book that was laid out in front of her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Kayla sighed in resignation. She was going to have to do something about this problem. "I can't go on like this anymore!" she cried out as she launched herself onto her bed. "I hate him so much. He gets on my nerves every time he opens that big mouth of his, but I do-" she got cut off by the sound of Tiffany coming through the door, talking to herself. She was mumbling on about something, but what? Kayla strained her hearing to pick up the words.  
  
"God damn you Sirius Black! How could you say something like that? You had no right what so ever! God! If I never see your revolting, slimy, disoriented face again it'll be too soon!" she muttered viciously enough to have Kayla's eyebrows lifting in speculation.  
  
"Well, well, well, what did ol' Siri poo do to Tiffany?" Kayla whispered to herself. After all, they are hardly ever around each other. 'Or are they? Hmm . . . something to think about.' Kayla thought.  
  
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, Sirius." Was all that you could hear out of Tiffany for the rest of the night.  
  
And Kayla decided to play detective on this matter. Just her, and just for fun . . . or maybe just so that she could bug Sirius. No one knows the answer to that, not even she does.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: I know, this chapter was a little weird. I was sort of going from one perspective to the next, then a different P.o.V. all together. Sorry. But I was trying to make it seem more . . . mysterious? I don't know . . . something like that.  
  
Well, I hope that you could understand this, and that you enjoyed. Please Review with your comments.  
  
Thank you for reading,  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	15. Goodbye, my Love

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody 'cept Kayla, Aria, Tiffany, and some of the teachers. The rest belong to J.K. Rowling.  
  
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Chapter 15- Goodbye, my Love  
  
The next morning was chaotic in the Ravenclaw girls 6th year Dorm rooms. Everyone having woken up late, was arguing over who got the shower, and after realizing that Tiffany had already taken the bathroom, they started to fight over who had it next, eventually, everyone got their shower, but in the end, the four girls ended up missing breakfast altogether.  
  
"God, I'm hungry." Kayla whined as they began to walk towards Herbology Class. Lily groaned. "You've been saying that since you got out of the shower, Kayla! We know already!" Aria snapped in reply, causing her friends to stare at her. Aria blushed and mumbled something that sounded like "sorry" and continued out side to the green house.  
  
"She seems bitchy today." Tiffany said as they watched Aria stomp her way across the grounds.  
  
"Hmm." Lily said, deep in thought.  
  
"Tonight's the full moon." Kayla commented as they began their decent in Aria's wake.  
  
"I bet you that's why she's so . . . snappy." Lily mumbled. "We're still on for tonight though, aren't we?" she said looking at her two remaining friends.  
  
They had been planning to go explore this cave that they had found past Hogsmeade a couple of weeks ago.  
  
"Oh yeah." Kayla drawled, excitement ringing through her voice.  
  
Tiffany nodded her head.  
  
Lily smirked, 'This is going to be so fun.' She thought with glee.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Aria, Kayla, Lily and Tiffany all walked in the Great Hall from their last class for lunch, scanned the Gryffindor table then walked over and sat at the Ravenclaw table, keeping four seats open. . . the fourth one just in case.  
  
Lily laid her books down, and fleetingly glanced at them. For some reason they just seemed lighter today. Then she realized that she left her Care of Magical Creatures book in the dormitory.  
  
"Hey, I forgot my C.o.M.C. book in the room, I'll be right back, kay?" She said hastily, then not waiting for a reply, got up from her seat, and taking the books that she no longer needed with her, went to go get her book.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
James and Sirius were having a little bit of trouble at the moment. You see, they, reguardless of their . . . expertise, they were cornered by a big - no, make that very large - amount of Hufflepuff girls in one of the hallways.  
  
"Ladies, ladies, if you'd do us the honor of giving us just a little room here, please." Sirius begged vainly as three of the girls latched themselves to some part of his body.  
  
"Jamesie-poo, don't you remember me? We spent those thirty fabulous minutes in the broom closet by the Charms class together." A 6th year Hufflepuff with short brown hair and light gray eyes purred into his ear as another girl slid her hand up and down his chest, muttering exotic things that she wanted him to do to her in his ears. "Ladies, please, I'm already taken. As big of a delight this encounter has been-" he started, but was soon cut off by a voice that could make anyone's blood chill at the moment. Or, at least that is what it did to James' blood.  
  
"I believe that you better get your hands off of him before you end up in the hospital wing." Lily said, her eyes flashing yet her tone Artic cold. "NOW!" she screamed. The Hufflepuff's surrounding James giggled and for some stupid reason turned towards Lily and said, "Jealousy isn't flattering, you know." And turned back to stroking James' arm lovingly.  
  
Lily slowly, as if trying not to give in to her temper, muttered under her breath, "abroganzione", and suddenly every single Hufflepuff that was hanging on to James was on the opposite side of the hall, looking around wildly, trying to see what went had just happened. Lily glared at the girls and turned a frosted glance at James.  
  
"Lily!" two male voices rang after her as she turned to go to the Ravenclaw dorms.  
  
"Wait! Help!" Sirius yelled.  
  
"Stop! Please!" James yelled at the same time.  
  
Lily ignored them both, and jogged the rest of the way to the Ravenclaw entrance trying to stay away from James at the moment. Lily stopped at the statue, said the password, and went in.  
  
Having just put away the books that she brought with her, she started to look for her C.o.M.C. book, when she heard someone step into the room.  
  
Lily stiffened; knowing whom it was without even looking. He always seemed to draw her attention unlike any other.  
  
"Lils," he said softly, stepping further into the room. "What'd I do?" he asked. Lily turned around and looked James in the face. "You could have done something about them." Was all she said before she turned back to looking for her book. "Is that what this is about? Lily. I love you, not them. I couldn't get to my wand. I had stuffed it in my back pocket instead of my robe pocket, and couldn't reach it." Lily whirled around. "You can do wandless magic James, so don't give me that." She cried out. James' jaw dropped. "You know?" he croaked out. "Yes James, I know. You're a mage James! You could have gotten them off of you!" she said forcefully. " Yet you didn't." she said before he could explain in a broken voice as she sat down on her bed and buried her head in her hands.  
  
"Why James? Why? Miss the attention? Is one girl not enough for you? Why? Why, answer me that." She whispered, and despised the fact that the tears were audible in her voice.  
  
James walked over to Lily, his heart beating so loudly in fear that he was surprised that she couldn't hear it. He bent down and laid his hands gently, lovingly, on her knees. "Lily, you are enough for me, no one else will ever be able to take your spot in my heart. I love you with everything that I am. I have plans for us, I never want anyone else." He said, trying to get her to look at him, but she wouldn't raise her head from her hands. "Lily?" he said softly, knowing what she was thinking. "Please. Please Lily, say something. Anything other than what I think that you're going to say." He pleaded, his voice cracking with realization. 'I screwed this up big time, and just because I missed being fawned over, I'm losing the best thing that has ever happened to me.'  
  
"James," she whispered, lifting her head and looking at him. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you didn't push them off because you missed the attention. Because you wanted something better than what I can give you, and I won't say what you think that I want to say." She told him. James closed his eyes in desperation. If he was to lie, she would know it just by looking in his eyes. "Lils," he said, opening his eyes to gaze into hers, drowning in the depths of them. One of his hands moved from the position on her knee and cupped her neck. James transferred to his knees and leaned into her, bringing her lips to his and gently, brushed his lips along hers and pulled back. He kept his hand where it was, looked her in the eye and said, "Lily. You are everything that I could ever want, more than I ever dreamed possible to have." Lily let out a sob, somehow knowing what he was going to say next. "But, I - I missed that part of my life. Being the center of attention. And just for a moment, I wanted to know what it felt like again. Lily I love you, and I have tried so hard to change for you, but I found that some of the things that I used to do would just . . .pop out sometimes. Jump out of that boxed that I'd enclosed them in. I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I never meant to hurt you. I'd rather die than cause you pain, and you know that."  
  
Silent tears streaming down her face, Lily bent her head to his and kissed him. She poured everything that she felt for him in that kiss, and pulled back, fighting off the sobs that wanted to take over. 'I won't sob or morn, at least not until he can't hear.' She thought.  
  
"James, I love you so much, but I don't want you to change for me. I fell in love with you because of who you were before we dated. But, I can't compete with you yourself. James, I want you to know, I'll love no other like I love you, but I refuse to even think if your ego is going to find another way to satisfy itself. I can't. I'm sorry. I love you, but-" at this, one sob came past her defenses and she had to take a deep, shuddering breath to keep the rest at bay. "But I can't be with you always wondering where you are when I'm not around." She gasped, tears flowing rapidly down her cheeks.  
  
James, wiping his own tears with the hem of his sleeves, brought his hands to Lily's cheeks and ran his hand over her tear stained face in an attempt to wash away the tears.  
  
"Lily! Come on, we're going to be late!" came Kayla's voice from the staircase. A second later, two sets of feet could be heard coming up them, towards the 6th years room.  
  
James leaned in and kissed Lily, sliding his tongue in her mouth for one last taste before he pulled away, wiping away the fresh tears that tumbled over her lashes and onto her face. "I love you Lily Evans, don't forget that. I'll always love you." He whispered, brushing his lips against hers one last time as he got up.  
  
"James, I'll never forget what we shared. And I'll love you for the rest of my life and beyond James Potter." She whispered back in a broken voice, just as Kayla came in to the room demanding, "Come on. We have to go now!"  
  
James glanced at Lily then walked out of the door.  
  
"Goodbye, my Love." Lily whispered as she heard the common room door shut and finally let the dam break and began to sob.  
  
Kayla and Aria seeing this ran over to their friend and engulfed her in embraces. Lily sobbed even harder, already missing the warmth of James' love, his embraces, and his slightly cocky grins. Already missing him with every piece of her heart. "Ti amo, James." She whispered through her sobs, causing Kayla and Aria to look at each other in confusion.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
James walked slowly, concentrating on every step he took towards the Gryffindor common room, and then he had to concentrate on lifting his feet high enough to walk up the steps. It was only when he got to his room that he allowed his feelings show. Collapsing onto his bed, to weak to move, he cried out his pain.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: OMG! I cried so hard when I began to write this part. Sniffles . . . I really didn't want to make them break up, but it plays a big part in the plot, so I had to. Sorry. Please review.  
  
Thank you,  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	16. The Mystery of Tiffany and Sirius

Disclaimer: I own Kayla, Aria, Tiffany, and a few of the Professors, the rest belong to J. K. Rowling.  
  
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Chapter 16 - The Mystery of Tiffany and Sirius  
  
  
  
The next day everyone in the school knew of the breakup between James and Lily.  
  
"Did you hear? James walked in on Lily with some guy and they were-"  
  
"I can't believe that James would actually cheat on her! I mean come on, if you had THE Lily Evans would you go find someone else?"  
  
"I heard that James found out-"  
  
"You'll never believe what happened last night!"  
  
As Lily stepped into the Great Hall, all talking stopped and centered on her. "Great, everyone in the school already knows." she muttered to herself as she walked towards the Ravenclaw table.  
  
"Try to ignore them." Kayla whispered as she sat down next to Lily.  
  
Aria, noticing the tears in Lily's eyes, sat on the other side of her for comfort. "Lily, every thing will be fine. Just give it some time sweetie." She whispered softly.  
  
Just then, the Marauders walked in, and once again everyone became silent, waiting with bated breath, waiting for a fight to come . . . to everyone's disappointment, the three Marauders walked over to the Ravenclaw table and sat down as they always did.  
  
Lily looked at James and gave him a watery smile, which he returned before looking away. Lily looked down at her plate and concentrated on keeping the tears away. When she was finally sure that she wasn't going to cry, she realized that the mail had already came. She looked down on her plate and retrieved her mail. She decided to open the letter from her mother first.  
  
  
  
My Dearest Daughter,  
  
I hope that this letter finds you well. Unfortunately, this letter does not hold such news. Honey, we need you to come home. I know that you might not want to, but well, your Father's sick Honey, really sick. The doctors don't think that he's going to make it another year.  
  
I'm sorry Honey. I really am, but I want you here, just in case. I have written your Headmaster and requested that you come home. Please, write back soon. I hope to see you in a few days.  
  
With All My Love,  
  
Mom  
  
"Oh, my God. Oh, my God." Was all that she could say as she began to rock herself to and fro.  
  
James, noticing her behavior, laid his hand over her shaking one. "Lily?" he asked.  
  
The rest of the group, noticing her began to ask questions.  
  
"Leave me alone. Just leave me alone!" Lily cried out before she leaped from her seat and ran out the Great Hall.  
  
"What was that about?" Tiffany asked, eyes still trained on the spot where Lily had been sitting. The rest of the group shrugged their shoulders and debated if they should go after her or not. After all, Lily is dangerous when she wants to be, and if she doesn't want anyone around at the moment, she'll make sure that you're not around.  
  
James got up, and despite the danger, went after her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Later that day, Kayla and Aria were walking as fast as they could without running towards the dorm room to see Lily when they saw Sirius and Tiffany talking.  
  
Kayla stopped and looked at Aria, and with a jerk of her head told her to go on.  
  
As soon as Aria had cleared the next corner, Kayla stepped closer to the voices, and hid herself behind a wall.  
  
"I need you to-"  
  
"I love you Sirius!" Tiffany exclaimed, efficiently cutting off Sirius' sentence.  
  
Kayla bit back her laughter, imagining the slack jawed expression that he had to have had on his face at the moment.  
  
"Y-You can't!"  
  
"Yes, I can! I will love you more than Kayla ever could! I love you Sirius Black!"  
  
"NO!" Sirius exclaimed. Kayla could hear the shuffling of feet, and imagined Sirius backing away, trying to escape.  
  
"YES!"  
  
"Well, I don't love you! I'm sorry, but I love another. And even though she doesn't love me, I love her. And I plan on loving her for the rest of my life! I'm sorry, but I have to go." Sirius said with an air of longing in his voice. Kayla wasn't sure if it was for the missing love or not, but she knew that it was there.  
  
"Sirius, you kissed me! And now you're telling me that you don't love me! You- You bastard!" she yelled at him, causing Kayla to bite the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing.  
  
"I'm sorry." Was all that Sirius said before Kayla could see his shadow on the wall opposite of her. She panicked. 'If he sees me he's going to know that I heard!'  
  
Kayla pushed away from the wall and searched frantically around for some place to hide.  
  
"Kayla." Sirius said with a frown in his voice. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Ah." She said stupidly. " I was going to the Ravenclaw common room to see Lily." She told him truthfully.  
  
"And you decided to listen to my conversation with Tiffany." He guessed with narrowed eyes.  
  
Kayla gave him a sheepish look and shrugged her shoulders.  
  
"Did you really mean that?" she asked as they started to walk towards the Ravenclaw Common room. "That you'd love that girl forever?" she clarified when she noticed the confusion in his eyes.  
  
"Yes." He admitted. "But she'll never love me."  
  
"How do you know?" Kayla asked.  
  
"She ran away when I told y- her Kayla! What the hell else am I supposed to think!" he snapped.  
  
"That she was to scared to tell you the truth." She said softly.  
  
"And what is the truth?" Sirius asked, stopping and looking at Kayla.  
  
Kayla stopped also, but couldn't bring herself to look at him. "That she is falling head over heels for you, regardless of the fact that she is only 16." Kayla felt fingers pushing on her chin to get her to look up, and she did. Straight into Sirius' chocolate brown eyes.  
  
"Are you telling me," Sirius whispered, lightly tracing Kayla's face with his fingertips. "That she is falling in love with me? Are you Kayla? Or are you just telling me this to make me feel better?"  
  
"No. I'm most defiantly falling in love with you Sirius Black. Against my better judgment that is." She admitted with a small smile.  
  
"YES!" he screamed in triumph before he pulled her into his embrace.  
  
"I really do love you Kayla Cameron." He whispered against his lips as he kissed her.  
  
"Mr. Black, I believe that you know that it's against school rules to kiss in the hallways, and Miss..." Professor McGonagall said in a scolding tone as she took her gaze off of Sirius to look at his partner. What she saw caused her mouth to gape open and her eyes to widen in shock. "Miss Cameron?!" she gasped in amazement. "Alright Mr. Black. What did you give her? Was it a spell? Or was it a pot-" she started, but was cut off by Kayla laughing.  
  
"Professor McGonagall, I know this is a shock," Kayla managed to gasp between her laughter. "But he didn't give me anything, or do anything. This is of my free will. Which is why my free will and I have such a hard time agreeing. I always end up someplace I'm better off not being." She said, muttering the last part under her breath with a scowl.  
  
"Hey!" Sirius said huffily.  
  
Kayla smiled at him and looked back at the Professor.  
  
"Well," she said, sounding somewhat distant. " I still must take ten points from both of your houses. And please don't let me catch you again." With that, Professor McGonagall continued on her way.  
  
The new couple watched the Professor leave then continued towards the Ravenclaw common room, not knowing that they were about to receive some news that would change the way that they all lived for the next year.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: Finally! They're together. Hope you liked it. I tried to keep the "Mystery girl" a well, a mystery, but it seemed as if this was the perfect time for her to show her identity. Plus, I'm sure that most of you had already guessed who it was.  
  
Oh, and I just want to say thank you to all of you who review my story, it really means a lot to me. Oh, and I also want to say thank you to fareyspryte for doing the editing.  
  
Thank you all,  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	17. Promise Me

Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. You can be assured of that, but I do in fact own some of these people- Characters. The Harry Potter characters I do believe are owned by a Miss J.K. Rowling.  
  
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CHAPTER 17 - PROMISE ME  
  
Lily ran as fast as she could, running away from her problems, the truth, her life. She just wanted to be blissfully unaware of what was happening. As she stumbled to a stop inside of a lovely furnished room that she and James had found a couple of weeks ago, she finally broke down and let every thing that had happened within the past twenty-four hours sink in. She sunk to her knees as the grief washed over her in tidal waves.  
  
  
  
Lily felt two strong arms come around her shaking frame and hold on tight, causing Lily to cry harder. She smelled him. James. Her James. Her love. Her everything.  
  
  
  
"James." She gasped and wrapped her arms around him, refusing to let go when he picked her up and took her over to one of the pieces of furniture that inhabited the room. There was a queen sized bed against one wall, a couch, six arm chairs, and a table, other than that, the room was pretty much bare, and only James, Lily, and Kayla knew about this place. "I'm here, sweetheart." He whispered in her ear as he held her close. Lily could feel the soothing touch of his hand petting her hair while she cried away her sorrows.  
  
  
  
James sat there on that couch petting Lily's head thinking how much he would give if he could make her sorrow go away. He loved her; he was supposed to protect her from these sort of things, wasn't he? He wanted to make sure nothing ever hurt her. 'I want to be all that she needs.' He thought silently as he kept on stroking her hair and whispering calming words in her ear.  
  
  
  
  
  
I'll be your dream  
  
I'll be your wish  
  
I'll be your fantasy  
  
I'll be you hope  
  
I'll be your love  
  
Be everything that you need  
  
I'll love you more with every breath.  
  
Truly, madly deeply do  
  
I will be strong  
  
I will be faithful  
  
'cause I'm counting on  
  
  
  
  
  
"James?" Lily asked as her tears started to slow down, leaving her with a pounding headache. James looked down at her and smiled hesitantly, looking as if he suddenly didn't know what to do. Lily smiled at that thought. James had always felt awkward around crying females. He had always told her, "Crying females just make me feel so helpless. Most of the time you don't even know what the hell they're crying about!"  
  
  
  
  
  
A new beginning  
  
A reason for living  
  
A deeper meaning  
  
  
  
  
  
"Why couldn't you just been happy with me?" she asked him, searching his eyes.  
  
  
  
James looked at her, stunned. 'She thinks that I did that because I wasn't satisfied with her! How stupid can you get James!' he scolded himself. "Lily. You. You are everything. Everything. I was more than happy with you. I felt-" James replied looking her in the eyes so she could see the truth there. "I felt-" he broke off once again, and impatiently ran a hand through his already unruly hair- making in stick up in a way that made it look as if he just got out of bed- in frustration. "With you I felt as if I could do anything, be anything. With you I felt like I really belonged somewhere. I felt secure somehow. Like for once in my whole entire life I was where I belonged. Like I was meant to be in your arms for the rest of my life. I love you Lily. With everything I am. You're everything to me. Without you, there would be no me." James broke eye contact and looked at the wall behind Lily's head, as if he found the plain eggshell white color fascinating. "Lily." He said his voice starting to crack from held in emotions. "I felt like if I could give you the world, and everything else you wished I would have fulfilled my life's purpose. Pleasing you."  
  
  
  
I want to stand with you on a mountain  
  
I want to bathe with you in the sea  
  
I want to lay like this forever  
  
Until the sky falls down on me  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh, James!" Lily cried out and framed his face with her warm, soft hands, causing him to look down at her.  
  
  
  
Lily was astonished to see that he was crying. She vaguely remembered his tears from yesterday, but she saw them clearly today. "Then why? Why'd you do it James? Why couldn't you just back away?" she asked softly, needing to know this answer for some unknown reason.  
  
  
  
James sighed. "I honestly don't know. I thought that it wouldn't hurt to allow them to flirt with me, that it wouldn't hurt if I flirted back. I thought that I'd be safe. But I wasn't," he answered in shame.  
  
  
  
Lily, without saying anything slid her hands around to interlock around his nape and brought his lips down to hers, keeping eye contact with him until the moment their lips touched. She nibbled and nipped until he opened up, then slid her tongue inside, sighing into the warm haven that was his mouth. For some reason he always tasted like Chocolate Frogs. The sweet chocolate flavor, mixed with caramel. She loved his taste. It was rather addicting.  
  
  
  
  
  
I'll make a wish and send it to heaven  
  
Then make you want to cry  
  
The tears of joy for all the pleasure in the certainty  
  
  
  
  
  
Lily felt James' tongue tangle with hers and let out a soft moan. God she loved this boy. She was completely, one hundred percent in love with him.  
  
  
  
  
  
That we're surrounded by the comfort and protection of  
  
The highest powers  
  
The lonely hours  
  
The tears devour you  
  
I want to stand with you on a mountain  
  
I want to bathe with you in the sea  
  
I want to lay like this forever  
  
Until the sky falls down on me  
  
Oh can you see it baby?  
  
You don't have to close your eyes  
  
'Cause its standing right here before you  
  
All that you need will surely come  
  
I'll be your dream I'll be your wish  
  
I'll be your fantasy  
  
I'll be you hope I'll be your love  
  
Be everything that you need  
  
I'll love you more with every breath  
  
Truly, madly deeply do  
  
  
  
I want to stand with you on a mountain  
  
I want to bathe with you in the sea  
  
I want to lay like this forever  
  
Until the sky falls down on me  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Somewhere along the line, someone had begun to cry again, and the taste melded into their kiss, somehow making it taste all the sweeter. Lily pulled back with a small gasp and leaned her head against James' shoulder while she summoned her wits again.  
  
  
  
"Lily," James said with a sigh. " Tell me what was in that letter." He asked her.  
  
  
  
Lily sighed. It was now or never. She inhaled a deep breath then slowly let it out again and lifted her head to look him in the eye. And found that she was too cowardly to do so. She wiggled out of his grasp to pace in front of him. "James," she began, still pacing. "My Father has been getting ill for sometime. He'd get sick, then he'd get better. Just like everyone else." She mused out loud, almost forgetting that he was there. "I never really thought much about his illness until this morning. I have just so politely been informed by my mother that my father-" her voice started to waver at this, and tears began to cloud her vision again. "My father is sick James. Very sick. He isn't expected to live another year." Tears began to slowly make their way down her face. She could taste them on her lips as her tongue darted out to moisten her suddenly dry lips. She hadn't known that he had gotten up, but the next thing she knew, she was in his embrace again, being cuddled against his muscled chest, her head almost directly over his heart. She could hear the muffled thumps that it made, and some how that sound comforted more than she knew it could. "I have to go back James." She mumbled into his arm. "My mother has already asked Dumbledore. I'll most likely be taking my classes at home for the rest of the year. I want to spend this time with my father though too. You know how close we are." She said, thinking out loud more than talking to James. "My father is a great person, and if these are the last days he has, then I want to spend every moment I can with him. I love him so much. I swear that this is going to be like letting Cammy go again. God James. How am I going to do this again. I can't. I'm not strong enough to do this." She sobbed, as if reality just gave her one swift kick in the ass once again. Which it did.  
  
James was staring into space. 'The rest of the year without seeing her!' he thought wildly. 'How in all hell am I going to accomplish that?!' he silently screamed in frustration. He began to run his hands slowly, comfortingly, down her back as he took notice of the deepening sobs that took her. He frowned in consideration. 'Who's going to help her get through this?' he wondered as he began to mentally go through her family, looking for someone who would be there to support her when she would be about to collapse. 'Petunia hates her for being magical, her mother would be in no shape what so ever to look out for herself much less Lily. She does have the servants, but I remember her saying something about all of the elder ones that she cared for had retired. Hmmm . . . maybe her grandmother. Wait, no. If I remember right, she blames Lily for Camellia's death, so that's a no.' James' frown became darker. The thought of Lily going home to take all of this on her own irked him to no end. 'Wait!' his mind screamed. 'What about Kayla? I mean, after all, Mr. Evans is like a second father to her. But Lily hadn't said anything about Kayla going.' He put in as an after thought.  
  
  
  
"Lily." He whispered into her hair, inhaling the scent of peaches, along with the exotic smell of her perfume that he never could actually place. "Promise me that you won't run yourself dry." He said after he felt that he had her attention. He heard something that sounded like, "I promise" and began to rub her back once again.  
  
  
  
James didn't know how long they stood like that, it could have been minutes or it could have been hours, but he suddenly felt Lily's deep, even breaths fan his neck, and realized that she had fallen asleep.  
  
  
  
James bent his body slightly and gently lifted her legs and carried her over to the bed, careful not to wake her up in the process. He laid her on the bed, took off her shoes and slid her under the covers. He was about to go and sit on the couch when all of a sudden her hand shot out. James looked at the hand, then at Lily and realized that she had woken up. "Stay." She whispered. It was so low that James, barely even a foot away from her could barely catch the single word. The hand fell limply to the sheets once again, and James looked at it then sighed. This was not going to help the state that his body was in. In fact, he was beginning to believe that a freezing cold shower would help the state that he was in. He shut his eyes, and a picture of her formed in his mind, causing his eyes to fly open. He sighed again and resignedly slipped out of his shoes, shrugged out of his robe, threw it on the ground somewhere and slid into the bed. He looked at her again, and tried to think of anything except for the luscious curves he knew that were hidden beneath the modest Hogwarts uniform. And to his dismay, the only thing that he could think about was the exact thing that he was trying so hard not to think about. He had a feeling that if Lily knew what he was going through at the moment a saucy little smile would show up accompanied with a "That's what you get" comeback, or to his horror. Something that would arouse him even more, causing him even more agony. Which at this moment he was finding very hard to believe that such a state existed.  
  
  
  
James drew in another breath, took off his glasses and laid them on the table next to the bed and drew Lily to him, causing her to snuggle into his warmth. James despite his uncomfortable state smiled at how child like she seemed with half of her face buried in his side, and her body half turned into his.  
  
  
  
Without even realizing it, James fell asleep, grasping Lily to him tighter as he drifted off into the much needed slumber making up for those hours he missed last night.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Kayla, Sirius, Aria, and Remus all flew down staircase after staircase looking for one particular painting that seemed to have disappeared.  
  
"Ah-ha!" Kayla cried in triumph. "I found it."  
  
  
  
The others hurried and gathered around her as she located the brick that would give you entry to the room beyond. As the door opened, the four friends rushed through the door, only to stop dead in their tracks at what met them. Clothes. On the floor. Robes. Shoes.  
  
  
  
Sirius, being the daring, perverted boy that he is happened to "peak" towards the bed and glared at not finding what he hoped would be there. "They're dressed." He stated sulkily. The other three looked at him and shook their heads in astonishment. He never seemed to stop amazing them.  
  
  
  
"Oi! Wake up sleepy heads!" Remus and Sirius called at the same time. Which resulted in two pathetically thrown pillows from the direction of the bed. They didn't even make it off of the bed. Sirius scoffed. "Come on, you can do better than that Jamsieee." He taunted.  
  
  
  
James lifted his heavy head off of the pillow and glared at Sirius and flopped his head right back down on the pillow. Then shot straight up, causing Lily's head to drop from its position on his chest and waking her up.  
  
  
  
"What the hell did you do that for? My head hurts enough thank you every much." She said grumpily as she glared at him. She noticed that his eyes were trained on something towards the door and looked towards it herself, and froze.  
  
  
  
"Ah. Hi." Lily said weakly and tried to manage a smile, but not succeeding.  
  
  
  
"We've been worried sick about you and you've been in here with . . . LOVERBOY having a SNOGGING session!" Kayla raved.  
  
  
  
Lily slipped out of the blankets and put her feet on the ground. Then pulled them straight back up with a yelp. "One of these day's you are going to have to realize that these floors are freaking COLD Lily." She muttered to herself as she lowered her feet to the stone floor again with a wince. 'COLD, COLD, COLD, COLD.' Her mind chanted as she walked over to Kayla and pulled her aside.  
  
  
  
"Kay. I-I'm sorry, but this isn't what it looks like. I came here to be away from everybody, and James just happened to find me." Lily said in a small voice.  
  
  
  
"Lily," Remus said with a compassionate tone. "What was this morning about." The rest, bar James, nodded at him, asking her to answer his question.  
  
Lily glanced at James, who had silently gotten out of the bed and put on his glasses, for encouragement. She got it with a small nod and smile. She then glanced back at her friends and sighed. 'I'm never going to get rid of this headache.' She silently complained.  
  
  
  
"That note was from my mother. And well, it was holding some news that I most definitely did not want to hear. My father over the past couple of years has been getting sick, not often, but often enough for him to go to the doctors I guess. I never really paid attention to it, 'cuz I thought that it was one of those things that come with age." Lily said with a shrug. Then, for this next part she looked directly at Kayla, tears already prickling at the back of her eyes. "I guess he has some kind of fatal illness, I wasn't told what but . . . Oh, God, Kayla," she said as she gasped for a breath. "He isn't expected to live another year."  
  
  
  
"OH MY GOD!" came from three throats.  
  
  
  
Kayla on the other hand sank down into the couch and buried her head in her hands, and her shoulders began to quake as she cried. Lily crouched before her and gathered her into a hug and began to cry along with her.  
  
  
  
For the longest time Lily and Kayla had shared a father it seemed like Kayla wasn't particularly close to hers. And seeing as the two girls had known each other their entire lives, it seemed only natural for Nicolas Evans to take the place of surrogate father. He had always bugged Kayla about her clothing, boys, everything that he bugged Lily on. And now, the only father that she ever cared to acknowledge as a father was dying. To realize that such a powerful man could be fallen by something like this, it was . . . shattering. Nicolas Evans always seemed larger than life. And now, it seemed almost as if he was getting a limit put on it. Like he wasn't so large now.  
  
  
  
"No!" Kayla cried out and began to shake harder as she dropped her hands from her face and wrapped them around Lily, clinging to her as if her life depended on it.  
  
  
  
In the background you could see Sirius sinking into an armchair, disbelief, shock, and sorrow written across his face, and a tear fall down his cheek and land on his robe. Then another. And another, and another. You could also see James sinking back onto the bed and bury his face in his hands, and Remus gape in shock. Aria stood there crying silently, then grabbed Remus for comfort. All four of them had became close with Nicolas Evans. Close enough to feel the impact of this news. Yet, James and Sirius knew that they had something to do before they could let him go. They, his daughters loves, needed to ask him something really big. Needed to make him apart of this. Needed to make sure that he would be apart of this. Even if it wasn't going to happen in the near future. They needed to do this. It wouldn't feel right if they didn't other wise.  
  
  
  
Silently, as if hearing each other's thoughts, they lifted their heads and looked at each other. James nodded his head in silent agreement to whatever it was that they were thinking, and Sirius switched his gaze to watch the woman he loves cry for the first time in his memory, and it was breaking his heart to see her do so.  
  
  
  
"Kayla," Lily said loud enough for everyone else to hear her too. She could tell that they were listening, she felt their gazes pierce her back. "I'm going back to spend what time he does have left with him. I wanted you to come back with me for a couple of weeks. Would you?" she asked. Lily felt Kayla's grip tighten on her back and the quick nod of her head as she started to cry harder.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Later that night every thing was done, the girls had seen Dumbledore, owled the Cameron's, and Lily's mother. James and Sirius had secretly owled their parents along with Mrs. Evans, and at the moment, you could find Lily down in the common room with her head in James' lap and him combing his fingers through the thick, soft locks of hair.  
  
"James?" Lily asked sleepily.  
  
  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
  
  
"I want you to make me a promise. Can you do that?"  
  
  
  
"Anything." He replied without a seconds thought.  
  
  
  
"I want you to promise me that when I come back for 7th year that you'll be waiting. I know that's selfish, but I don't think that I could survive all of this not knowing that you'll waiting for me somewhere along the line. Can you promise me that? I don't care if you date, kiss, or sleep with other girls, just promise me that you'll be there when I return. Please." She begged as a tear fell from her cheek onto his pants.  
  
  
  
"Lily. You needn't have asked that. I would have been waiting for you even if you hadn't asked." James gave a small smile at the sound of Lily's sniffling. He'd seen her cry more today than he had in the sixteen years that they have known each other. "And there is going to be no one else. No sex, no kissing, no dating. I promise you that too." He said, and was rewarded by a small chuckle. "Why is it," he sighed. "that you always doubt yourself, Baby? Why is it you keep on thinking that my love is only going to last so long?" He could feel her sigh and knew that she was thinking about the answer.  
  
  
  
"Because for so long," she finally started, "I never believed that I would fall in love. Because of what I am. Because of what I represent. And then I saw you on the train ride this year and something clicked. I think that that switch has been getting nudged for a very long time. Which now explains my jealousy for all of those idiotic bimbos that you dated. But anyways," she hurried along, sensing his reply. "I became vulnerable to things that were never there before. I had to care what someone else thought of the way I acted. I know that our parents have a love, a deep love for one another, but I have rarely ever seen two people love each other like that. What our parents have James, is something few find. And I don't know . . . I just feel as if I shouldn't be one of those few who actually find their other half, you know what I mean. I have never done anything in my life to deserve you. Yet, some how, I have you." Lily finished with a sigh.  
  
  
  
"I love you Lily Evans, and I promise you that I'll be here waiting with open arms for you when you return." James said softly as Lily fell asleep in his lap.  
  
  
  
James smiled a smile that would have melted Lily into one giant puddle if she had seen it and whispered quietly, "And I'll be waiting with a ring and the hope that you'll say you'll be mine."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Oh my God that is the longest chapter that I have ever written! So, whatcha think?? Tell me, tell me!! Pleeeeease. I'm begging of you. Please review.  
  
Well, I hope you're happy with the way that things are progressing in the story, but there's more to come.  
  
A/N 2: The tattoos are part of the plot . . . they fit in somewhere in the future, you'll see later. And incase this wasn't as clear as I thought that it was, Lily knew that James was a mage because of that Animagus charm that he and the guys did in I think that it was chapter 9, or something around there. But that Charm that Lily and her friends did was something that only a mage could do . . . I don't think that I put that in there, sorry. But yea, that's how Lily knew that James was a mage.  
  
A/N 3: The son that was featured here is "Truly, Madly, Deeply" by Savage Garden.  
  
Thank You,  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	18. I Love You Daddy

Disclaimer: Regardless of my wishes, I do not own Harry Potter. **Sighs with regret** too bad.  
  
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Chapter 18 - I Love You Daddy  
  
"You ready Kay?" Lily asked Kayla as she sat on her trunk to get it closed.  
  
  
  
"Yea. I think I am."  
  
  
  
"Good." Lily grunted. "Then you can help me close this stupid thing. Magic isn't helping."  
  
  
  
Kayla looked over towards her best friend and for the first time almost sixteen hours giggled. Here was Lily, sophisticated, intelligent Lily, bouncing on top of a full trunk trying to close it. She looked like a kid somehow. Kayla, still giggling, walked over to Lily's trunk and sat on it with her. "Uh. Lils." Kayla said bewilderment laced in her voice. "This thing isn't going to close anytime soon." She said as she gazed at the two inches that separated the top of the trunk and the lock.  
  
  
  
Lily looked down and grunted. "Someone Help!" she yelled, making Kayla cringe at the volume.  
  
  
  
"You didn't haveta scream in my ear, ya' know." Kayla muttered crabbily.  
  
  
  
Just then, three boys ran into the room panting for breath. "What's wrong? " One gasped out.  
  
  
  
"Oh. Hi guys." Lily said when she realized who they were.  
  
  
  
"Lily, honey," James gasped out, his heart thumping wildly from his sprint up the stairs. "What's wrong?" Lily looked at him with a puzzled frown, then realized that he heard her cry for help.  
  
  
  
"Oh! I can't get my trunk to close. Can you help?" she asked. Sirius, James, and Remus gawked at her. "You mean to tell me that we ran up two flight of stairs just because you can't get your trunk closed?" Sirius asked in wonderment. Lily nodded her head sheepishly. James sighed walked over to the trunk whispered something under his breath and the trunk closed with a thud.  
  
  
  
"'tis magic!" Lily said, and received stares. Lily shrugged her shoulders in response. "I went down to the Hospital Wing to get my runny nose to go away, and I accidentally took too much of the potion that she gave me and I became . . . whatever you call this." She explained with a gesture of the hand at herself. They all looked at her, each with an expression that clearly stated, 'Yeah, sure you did.' Lily's eyes went wide with indignation. "I did too! Just go and ask the demented nurse!" she exclaimed huffily.  
  
James draped an arm around her shoulders and began to steer her towards the door. "We're all sure that you did, Baby. Now, come on, or we're going to be late for our train." He said, and then glanced down at her to see how she had taken the last comment. Shock was on her face as she looked up at him. "Oh, yea, about that. Sirius and I wrote to our parents, your mom, and talked to Dumbledore. We're going to spend a couple of days with you guys. That is okay with you, isn't it?" he added as an after thought.  
  
  
  
"Oh, James!" Lily whispered as she turned around and threw herself into his arms. "I really really wanted you to come with me but I didn't know if you would want to so I didn't ask. Thank you so much!" she cried into his shirt. James looked over her head at Sirius and raised a brow, asking him if he knew what this was about. Sirius shook his head in response and James lightly petted Lily's hair as he drew her back to look into his eyes. "Why the tears, Red?" he asked, referring to her childhood nickname that he had gave her. "Don't call me that, mop-head." She said with a glare, and was pleased to see him grimace at the mention of his childhood nickname.  
  
  
  
"Right," he said. And they began to walk to the Great Hall again, leaving the trunks to be picked up by the House Elves. "Now, about those tears . . ." he said with a glance down at her.  
  
  
  
"It was nothing, James, " she said as she slung an arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder.  
  
"Come on, Lils. It had to have been something!" he exclaimed, trying to pry the answer out of her. Lily rolled her eyes to the heavens and continued to walk with him, not answering him the whole way down to the train station.  
  
  
  
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It was dark outside as the Hogwarts Express came to a stop at Kings Cross, Platform 9 ¾.  
  
  
  
"You, guys," Lily said loudly. "Wake up!"  
  
  
  
Sirius, Kayla, and James all woke up and looked around as if they couldn't remember where they were. "We're here," was all she said as she opened the compartment door and walked on to the Platform.  
  
  
  
"How are we getting to Italy?" James asked as he shrank their luggage so that it fit inside the pockets of their muggle clothes.  
  
  
  
Lily looked at them and simply said, "We're connected to the Floo network." She waited until Sirius and Kayla caught up, then stepped towards a lit fireplace that was there for families who needed to get home after picking up or dropping off their kids for school. Lily threw in some sparkling blue powder and stepped into the fire, shouting, "Evans Castillo."  
  
  
  
Lily emerged from the fire into a white and gold furnished room and looked around. She felt a presence behind her, and knew it was Kayla. Lily looked over her shoulder and held out a hand. Just then, James came out of the fireplace, quickly followed by Sirius.  
  
  
  
"We're going to visit Dad, you know where your rooms are, don't you?" Lily said. The boys nodded, understanding that they needed this time with Nicolas Evans, and headed towards the door.  
  
  
  
Lily turned to Kayla, tears forming in both of their eyes and asked, "You ready for this?"  
  
  
  
Kayla nodded her head silently and the two teenaged girls started walking hand-in-hand side-by-side towards the door that lead into the hall, then turned left, heading for the library . . . also known to many as Mr. Evans domain.  
  
  
  
Their steps gave off an eerie echo that neither had ever noticed before as they walked down the deserted halls, empty of all but furniture. "Where is everybody?" Lily asked out loud as they came to a stop in front of the library doors.  
  
  
  
Both girls took a deep breath and Lily opened the door, and a sob came out as Lily saw her father, proud as ever sitting behind the desk reading a book on poetry.  
  
  
  
"Daddy," the two girls whispered, the single word echoing in the silence of the library, causing the man behind the desk to look up from his book.  
  
  
  
"My babies." He said, tears forming in his eyes also starting to shine with wetness, and stood up.  
  
  
  
Lily and Kayla walked over to him and were engulfed in a hug, the embrace full of love and warmth. All of a sudden, in unison all three started to cry.  
  
  
  
"I love you two with all my heart." Nick whispered to his daughters, as he did indeed think of Kayla Cameron as his own.  
  
  
  
"I love you too, Daddy." Came the broken whispers.  
  
  
  
How long the three of them stood there, crying and holding on to each other as if their lives depended on it, they didn't know, but when they pulled back, Mr. Evans had a smile on his face.  
  
  
  
"We," he said, his musical voice filled with happiness, "are going to spend every waking hour together. We are going to fill our time with happiness, so that nothing else is remembered but the good." He said with a smile that hinted of mischief and laughter. "I also hear," he said grinning like a loon now, "that you brought me two new boys to interrogate. And if I remember correctly, the only two who will interrogate me back," he said with a lopsided smile.  
  
  
  
Lily and Kayla both gave watery laughs and nodded their heads. Just then, the dinner bell sounded. Mr. Evans turned his two daughters around and steered them towards the door, draping an arm around each, securing them at his sides.  
  
  
  
"Oh, and Daddy," Lily said with a small smirk and a quick look at Kayla. "Please don't scare this one away."  
  
  
  
Kayla, understanding where Lily was going to, smirked, and put in, "Yeah, we sorta like them. Although the reason why is still unknown."  
  
  
  
Mr. Evans looked down at the girls at his side and sighed. "I'll try, but there's no promise. You are after all," he said with his own smirk, "my little girls." And as predicted, they both cringed at the title of "Little Girl". Mr. Evans chuckled as he ushered the two into the dinning room.  
  
  
  
"I love you guys." He said as he sat down.  
  
  
  
"Love ya too Daddy!" they both replied with a little girls accent, causing their father to grin. 'These two girls could make the Grinch himself laugh if they tried hard enough.' He thought to himself in amusement.  
  
Mr. Evans looked up as he heard footsteps approach. Expecting to see his wife coming through the door, he smiled, but as soon as the two boys walked through the doorway, that smile turned into a glare. 'They better wait a few years to take away my daughters.' He thought gloomily. It's not as if Nick had anything against these two boys, quite the opposite really, it's just that he doesn't want to let go yet. 'Father possessiveness, is always present with daughters.' He mused as he watched with a blackening glare as the two teenage boys bent down to gift their girlfriends with chaste kisses before sitting down next to them.  
  
James, noticing the glare, grimaced. 'This is going to be a long night.' James thought as he barely managed to withhold a pain filled groan.  
  
"James! Sirius!" Alexandra Evans exclaimed in excitement. "Oh, it's been so long since I've seen you two!" she said as she kissed both of their cheeks, leaving lipstick kisses. "You two have grown so much. Oh!" she yelped as she noticed Kayla sitting next to Sirius as she bent down to kiss his cheek. "My darling Kayla. How are you?" she asked as she bent down to hug her.  
  
Kayla took a breath and inhaled the scent of Jasmine that always seemed to be on Alexandra. "I'm doing." Was all she could say as a reply. 'God, I love these people. If Remus and Aradriana were here, all the people that I loved in this whole world would be under one roof.' She mused silently. Suddenly, she felt a hand grip hers under the table as Alexandra walked over to her daughter to embrace her. Kayla looked at Sirius to see a concerned look on his face, and gave him a small smile that was meant to reassure. She felt him squeeze her hand and knew that he would always be there for her, and with a sense of sorrow, knew that he would be with her on the hardest day of her life. The day that she buried her father.  
  
"I love you all," she whispered to herself.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
There wasn't much of the boys in here because I wanted you guys to see what it was like in between Nicolas Evans, Lily and Kayla. Sorry.  
  
Please review.  
  
Thank You,  
  
Mistress del Mare. 


	19. May I Have

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter books, such things are owned by J.K. Rowling.  
  
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Chapter 19 May I Have . . .  
  
James Potter looked around his surroundings to take his mind off of his nerves. 'Oh God Almighty,' he thought as his mind wandered to the reason why he happened to be sitting in this particular room at 7:24 in the morning. Just then, he heard the door to the library open, and his palms began to sweat. 'I can do this, I can do this,' he chanted to himself for confidence.  
  
"James?"  
  
James turned around in his chair and looked into the questioning eyes of Nicolas Evans. "H-Hi M-Mr. Evans," he said. Mr. Evans nodded in reply and looked questioningly at James.  
  
James gulped. 'Here goes nothing,'' he thought as he steeled himself for what was to come and looked down at his hands.  
  
"Well sir, I have a question that is of utmost importance for you," he mumbled, barely louder than a whisper. James looked up from his hands and into the bottle green eyes of Mr. Evans.  
  
"What did you say James?" he asked as he took his seat behind his desk. James inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out again before he started over.  
  
James looked him in the eye and said, "I have a question for you that I think that is of importance for you." James was surprised when he heard chuckling. "Sir?" he asked, confused.  
  
"Sorry, James." Mr. Evans replied. "I've been wondering how long it'd take for you to come and see me about this. Now, what's your question?" he asked, his eyes twinkling with mischief.  
  
"Well, Sir," James got out before he had to stop to take another breath. It's not that he didn't love Lily, because he loved her with everything that he was, but come on! How would you feel if you had to ask a man that you have respected your whole life for one of his "little girls'" hand in marriage? "I have recently, as in the last two months, become Lily's boyfriend, and we both realized that we, well, we loved each other. Now, Lily doesn't know anything about this, but by the end of next year I wanted to ask her to marry me. And well, I guess I'm here to- to-to a-a-a-ask f- for your p-permission to do so," James barely managed to stutter out.  
  
Mr. Evans looked at James with a considering air, making the boy squirm and fidget in his seat under the scrutiny. "She loves you, you say. How do you know?" he asked. If you looked at James closely enough, you could see the pink tinge in his cheeks.  
  
"She's told me so, Sir," James answered, looking the elder man in his eyes. Mr. Evans, as if satisfied with this answer, nodded his head.  
  
"You do know that she doesn't give her love easily don't you?" he asked sharply, and received a nod in return. "James, I have always liked you. You remind me of myself when I was your age, but so help me God, if you hurt My Lily's heart, I'll come back from the dead to break your neck, and when you end up where ever dead people go, I'll haunt you for all eternity. Do you understand?" Mr. Evans demanded in a deadly tone.  
  
James gulped and nodded. "Yes, Sir, I do. But know that I would never intentionally hurt your daughter. I love her," he said. Mr. Evans narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Then you best look out for unintentionally hurting her, won't you?" he asked and was delighted to see the teenage boy pale.  
  
Mr. Evans got up from his chair and walked over to the far window that overlooked the sea cliffs. "You know," he began, his mind going back a decade and a half. "When I asked Alexandra's Father for permission, he choked on his spit, then glared at me. He got up from his chair and walked across the room. I remember him picking up this old antique cavalry sword that was sheathed and pointing it at me. Do you know what he told me?" he asked without turning around from the view. Without waiting for a reply, he continued on.  
  
"He told me that if he ever saw his daughter unhappy because of me that he would cut off one vital piece of my anatomy. I assured him that I would do nothing to harm her what so ever, but I did. It happens that two months after we got back from our honeymoon, my ex-girlfriend came to visit, not knowing that I was married. She unlocked the door herself, still holding the key I gave her, and walked up to my room, where she proceeded to get into bed with me.  
  
"Alexandra, having been out training, as having magic in her blood was still new to her, came home late, and just happened to see Sophia slip into our bed. She went home and cried to her Mother, and Taylor, her Father, found out. The next morning, I woke up to a prickling sensation. He was doing exactly what he told me that he'd do. I screamed bloody murder, I do remember that," Mr. Evans said with a small smile.  
  
"The only thing that stopped him from going through with his promise was magic, my magic. He told me, and I quote, 'I told you, you bloody whore, that if you ever made my baby girl unhappy that I would harm you, so that's what I'm going to do.' We eventually sorted everything out, but I told you this story for a reason. Do you know why?" he asked, finally turning around.  
  
James could feel his stomach turning. He got the message all right. Screw up and you get ten fold the pain you caused. "Yes, Sir, I do."  
  
Mr. Evans nodded his head and turned back to the scenery in past the window. "James, my family is everything to me. Not many mages are able to have them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are considered one, aren't you?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, I am," was the reply.  
  
"As is my daughter. I'm not sure if she's told you that, but she is. Your lives are going to be harder than you can imagine just for the simple fact that you're both mages. But, if you can deal with that, then the chance that I might have to come back from the dead and kill you slowly and with excruciating pain is slim. " Mr. Evans looked at James' reflection in the window and smiled evilly. "But if you cannot, I suggest you find a nice, gentle way to break up with my daughter now. So, slowly, I give you my permission"  
  
James didn't even hesitate with answering. "Thank you, Sir. You don't know how much this will mean to Lily," he said, getting up from his chair for the first time in almost an hour.  
  
"James," Mr. Evans called out as James started for the door. "Tell me one more thing," he said.  
  
"Anything, Sir."  
  
"Have you slept with my daughter already?"  
  
James choked. On what, you can only guess, but he choked. "Sir?" he gasped, not wanting to answer this.  
  
"You heard me James. Have you slept with Lily already?"  
  
James could feel himself beginning to sweat, and gulped down air as if he was deprived of it. He couldn't find it in himself to lie. God help him, he was going to tell the truth!  
  
"Sir-" he began, but was cut off by a "Daddy!"  
  
Mr. Evans looked towards the door just as Lily came bursting in the doors. She stopped dead at the sight of a nervous James, and a brooding father. "Uh-oh. Daddy, you didn't scare him, did you? I've already told ya that I like this one," she said as she walked over to James and swung an arm around his waist.  
  
"No, Flower, I haven't managed to scare this one away," he said, not even looking at his daughter, but looking straight into James' eyes. "My answer," he said, not giving up.  
  
James leaned into Lily's embrace and gulped. 'I'd rather die in her arms than anywhere else,' he thought as he nodded his head. Mr. Evans nodded with a sour expression and said, "Right," and turned his gaze towards his daughter.  
  
"Come here sweetie, " he said with a smile and opened his arms. Lily let go of James and rushed towards her father. Mr. Evans engulfed her in a hug and swung her around. "Where's Kay?" he asked as he laid a kiss on her forehead.  
  
"I was thinking that the six of us could go down to the beach later and spend some time together. But, I also wanted to talk with Sirius first," he said with a glint in his eye.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sirius was pacing outside the library door. It was very common for you to see him doing so as he always had so much stored up energy, but this was different. He was doing this because he was nervous. He had bitten his nails into stubs! This was not a Sirius-like activity. He heard footsteps approaching and turned towards the noise.  
  
"Siri? What are you doing here?" Kayla asked as she looked over her boyfriend. She noticed the uneven fingernails and groaned. "Let me guess, Dad has called upon you," she said as she crossed her arms across her chest.  
  
Sirius nodded his head. "But I haven't gone in yet," he said with a quick glance at the door, looking as if he expected it to swing open any second, and an angry Mr. Evans to come out and start yelling at him.  
  
Kayla lifted her eyebrow at him and walked passed him to knock on the frame of the door.  
  
"Come in!" came a voice from inside.  
  
Sirius looked at her as if she was crazy. "What?" she said trying to look innocent. "He is waiting for you, you know," she said in an exasperated tone while he just stood there looking at the door stupidly. Kayla rolled her eyes, opened the door, and quite rudely pushed him inside of the room.  
  
"I take it," Lily said from behind her. Kayla whipped around to see Lily leaning against the wall casually with her arms crossed under her breasts. "That he is going in to see Daddy." Kayla nodded her head and walked over to her best friend.  
  
"Come on." Kayla said lacing her arm through one of Lily's. "You know that he won't start until he senses that we're gone." Lily looked over her shoulder and glared at the door.  
  
"Kayla, darling, they are getting more than an interrogation in there," Lily said, still glaring at the door.  
  
Kayla stopped and looked at her. "Why do you say that?"  
  
Lily turned her head around and looked at Kayla. "Because. You tell me how many times have those two been in trouble and have had to go see McGonagall or Dumbledore. At least a million!" Lily answered before Kayla had a chance to say anything. "Yet James just came out of there only ten minutes ago shaking like crazy! I though that Daddy had threatened to kill him in there! Yet, James said he did no such thing," Lily said scowling at the wall in front of her.  
  
"Something is going on and I want to know what it is!" Lily said, stomping her foot as a child would in a temper. But, considering that she was moving, it didn't turn out quite like she planned, and she ended up hitting the leg of one of the tables with her foot, causing her to trip and fall, which caused Kayla, who was still holding on to her, to fall on top of her.  
  
"Is this a private orgy, or can I join?" asked the amused voice of James Potter as he stood in the hallway watching the two girls struggle to get up off of the floor.  
  
"Kayla! Watch where you put that arm of yours, would ya?"  
  
"Ouch! Lily! Stop twisting my arm!"  
  
"Ow! Ow! That's my back that your knee is so lovingly digging into!"  
  
"Ow!" both finally screamed in unison as they both hit their heads on the same table Lily tripped over as they got up.  
  
Lily got to her feet first and offered Kayla a hand up, rubbing the back of her skull with the other.  
  
Kayla got up, turned around and glared menacingly at the offending table. "Stupid thing," she muttered as she turned around to glare at a smirking James. "You could have helped you know," she said as she began to walk away, towards the garden doors.  
  
"Sorry! That was just so funny-omfh!" he said and got winded by a punch to the stomach from a glaring Lily.  
  
"Sorry, babe," he said rubbing his stomach with a pained expression.  
  
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"I take it that you are here for the same reasons as James is," Mr. Evans said as he eyed the boy in front of him. Sirius nodded his head, perfectly willing to have Mr. Evans do all the talking. "Well, sit down and I'll tell you what I told James just twenty minutes ago," He snapped.  
  
So, Sirius heard the threat - and cringed at it. 'Ouch! Better keep her very happy,' he thought with a grimace.  
  
"Tell me Sirius," Mr. Evans said, looking Sirius in the eye, "How long have you loved Kayla?"  
  
Sirius smiled dreamily. "I realized what my feelings for her were over the summer Nicky, but I've had these feelings for quite sometime. How long I couldn't tell you, but they've always been there," he said thinking of all the fun filled slaps, punches, and shoves into some hard object or body of water after all the comments he had whispered into Kayla's ear over the years.   
  
"Well, Sirius, I have three things to say to you," Mr. Evans said, efficiently bringing Sirius out of one fond memory in which he whispered something incredibly exotic about how they could warm each other up that cold afternoon into Kayla's ear, in which her reply was a quick in take of breath and letting it out in a shudder, then turning her wide eyes to him and pushing him into the freezing lake.  
  
"One, don't call me Nicky ever again; Two, don't go messing around with other girls; Three, be careful with her, she's been through a lot concerning men in her life. And if you ever force her," he said with a dark glare, and shaking voice, "I will kill you in the most painful way that I know how to, you got that?" Mr. Evans growled.  
  
Sirius, being Sirius, glared right back at him and jumped out of his chair. "I would never do that! God! What kind of person do you take me for, a rapist?" he shouted in outrage. Mr. Evans looked taken back by Sirius' outburst at first, then began to chuckle.  
  
"You and I are going to get along just fine, dear boy, just fine." Within an instant, Mr. Evans sobered and said, "I give you my permission for Kayla's hand in marriage, but you might also want to ask her real father. I know," he said with a sigh as he leaned against the back of his chair, "that she doesn't think of Phillip Cameron as he father, but just for forms sake you should also ask him. And even though it doesn't seem like it, make sure that Maria is involved in the wedding. She really does love Kayla, she just doesn't know how to show love, having grown up herself in a loveless house," he said, referring to Kayla's Mother.  
  
Sirius nodded. He had already planned to do so anyways. At least the part about asking Phillip Cameron for his permission for Kayla's hand in marriage. He looked at Mr. Evans, and was shocked to see tears flowing down his face.  
  
"You know," he said as if he felt Sirius' question. "I have just realized that in one day I have already found out who both of my daughters are marrying, and then have also realized within the same day that I won't be there on their day to walk them down the aisle. I have in fact done so with one of my daughters, but, it didn't feel right. Although nothing with Petunia feels right. She does after all look at me as if I'm a freak," he said, thinking about the daughter that wasn't even his daughter.  
  
***Flashback***  
  
"Nick, please. I have no one else that can take her," A beautiful young woman around the age of 23 begged of the man in front of her. "You are not the father, but he is dead. I do know that," The woman said in a soft voice.  
  
"What's her name?" asked another woman from that same room.  
  
Nick turned around to see his beautiful new wife, Alexandra, standing in the doorway looking at the small bundle in the other woman's arms.  
  
"'Lexia, Helen. Helen, my wife Alexandra." Nick said, making the introductions.  
  
"The child's name?" Alexandra said after giving a nod to the gray-eyed blonde. "Petunia," Helen replied.  
  
Alexandra finally walked away from the door and over towards the woman. "We'd love to take her," she said as she ran a gentle finger down the baby's cheek.  
  
***End Flashback***  
  
"Mr. Evans? Nick? NICKY!" Sirius finally yelled.  
  
"Ahh!" Mr. Evans yelped as he his eyes became focused and he saw the teenager standing over him waving his hand in front of his face.  
  
Sirius jumped back in surprise and started to laugh. It must have been contagious, because it wasn't long after that Mr. Evans began to laugh too.  
  
"What? What happened?" Lily yelled as she stormed into the room, followed closely by James, Alexandra, and Kayla.  
  
All they saw was Sirius and Mr. Evans, ten feet in between them, doubled over in laughter. Soon enough, the whole room was filled with laughter. What they were laughing about, no one cared, and no one felt the need to ask.  
  
This was one of those days that they'd always keep close to their hearts.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Say, Sirius," James asked as they strolled along the beach with their girls on their arms, and Mr. and Mrs. Evans a few feet ahead of them. "Why'd you get out of that damnable library laughing, and I came out of their shaking as if I had just emerged from a glacier?"  
  
Sirius smirked at James and in an amused tone said, "Well, Jamie-my-boy, I have this . . . charm shall we say." Kayla gave a snort of protest and Sirius looked down at his girlfriend in disbelief.  
  
"Are you saying that I'm not charming?" he asked in a shocked tone.  
  
"Sirius, honey," Kayla said in a sweet voice. "How long exactly did it take for us to become a couple? Five years." She said as James and Lily began to laugh. "Now, don't you think that if you had charm that it would have taken a little less time for me to begin dating you?" she asked.  
  
"I do to have charm!" he yelled, causing James to fall on his ass laughing, bringing Lily down with him, and Mr. and Mrs. Evans to look back at them questioningly. Sirius blushed and glared at Kayla. "You are so going to pay for that!" he said as he started for her.  
  
Kayla yelped and ran towards Mr. Evans.  
  
"Daddy help!" she said as she hid behind him. Sirius stopped in front of him and mad a grab for her, but she shot out of his grasp and began to run again.  
  
You could hear Kayla screaming for him to stop, Sirius screaming back something along the lines of, "Never my darling!" and Lily, James, and Mr. and Mrs. Evans all laughing like loons.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: So, how'd you like it? Okay, I don't know how I'm going to end this story, so I need your help. By the way, I'm going to have a sequel to this one, but that is neither here nor there. What I need your guys' help with is this;  
  
Should I kill Lily and James?  
  
Or should I keep them alive?  
  
Help! Please! I don't know what way to end this story, and I need help really badly, as I've said many times already.  
  
Oh, and one more thing; what's the secret to keeping the Italics in your stories as you post them? Whenever I use them, they go away after I download them onto fanfiction.net, so, if you guys out there could PLEASE help me figure out both of these mysteries I'd be eternally grateful.  
  
And one more thing before you review, (Hint, hint) thank you all for reviewing my story. Mistress del Mare 


	20. The Talk

Chapter 20  
  
  
  
The Talk  
  
  
  
"You do know," James panted as he jogged the shoreline with Lily on his last morning in Italy with her, "that this much running is bad for the heart, right?" he gasped. Lily looked at him and continued the last stretch of her daily two-mile jog.  
  
  
  
"And you do know that you are acting like a baby, right?" Lily shot back in the same tone, minus the heavy panting. James scowled at his girlfriend.  
  
  
  
"Finally!" James muttered in triumph as he saw the rocks that Lily used for her marker.  
  
  
  
Lily slowed down to a walk and looked at James pathetically. "Aren't you on the Quidditch team?" she asked him while he took a deep swig of his water.  
  
  
  
James scowled at her. "Yes, I am, but you don't need to be able to run two miles a day to play Quidditch," he growled out. Lily snickered and stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
  
  
"Mature, Honey, really mature," James said shortening his stride as they began their walk back to the house.  
  
  
  
"I know, I am, aren't I?" she sighed as she wrapped an arm around his waist and laid her damp head on his shoulder. "James," she whispered as she stopped.  
  
  
  
James looked at Lily and smiled. 'She is gorgeous, even when she was low maintenance,' he thought as he raised a hand to draw his fingers against the smoothness of her cheek.  
  
  
  
"I love you, James," she whispered, looking deep into his eyes.  
  
  
  
James smiled this dreamy smile. "I love you too, Lily. I love you, too," he whispered against her lips as he kissed her.  
  
  
  
Lily's mind went blank with passion as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth. God how she missed his taste, regardless of the fact that they had kissed before they started their run an hour ago. She moaned deep into their kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
  
  
James pulled back and looked into Lily's emerald green eyes, which were glazed over with held-in passion, and tried to get out of her embrace before he was tempted to take her on the sand like an animal.  
  
  
  
"Lils," he whispered, gently running the back of his fingers against her lips. "Let go before I can't control myself, please."  
  
  
  
Lily's eyes began to focus, and everything became clear again. 'His kisses always make every sense I have blurry,' she thought, as she looked into his blue, blue eyes. 'They have always reminded me of deep ocean waters,' she mused to herself before she realized that he was saying something. Lily loosened her arms from around his neck as he leaned back from her embrace.  
  
  
  
"Lils, I want you so much," he said as his lips lightly brushed hers. "But I don't want to take you on the beach. It'd be too messy, Baby," James said when he saw disappointment flash in her eyes as he pulled back.  
  
  
  
Lily looked at the ground, calculating, and grimaced. 'He's right,' she thought gloomily. She sighed aloud and looked at James with a pained expression as she slipped her small hand in his large one.  
  
  
  
"You leave tomorrow morning," she stated.  
  
  
  
James looked down at Lily and frowned in consideration. 'What is she thinking?' he wondered.  
  
  
  
"And I won't see you for months after this," she said with a glance at him. "And I was wondering. Would you come and visit me tonight?" she asked with a slight blush gracing her tanned complexion.  
  
  
  
James thought about this and grinned. "Maybe," he said.  
  
  
  
Lily scowled at him. 'Why is it whenever you ask a guy a question that you'd like to hear the answer to, you always get a maybe or some stupid remark that you don't want to hear?' she thought angrily.  
  
  
  
"Is that a maybe as in yes, or is that a maybe as in, 'I'm sorry but your parents are down the hall and around the corner' maybe?" she asked.  
  
  
  
James looked at her and smiled. "That's a maybe. Nothing more, nothing less," he said just irritate her. Lily growled and ignored him the rest of the walk back.  
  
  
  
'That's what you get for asking James Potter a question,' she thought hotly.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I have asked you four here for a reason," Mr. Evans said as he looked at the four faces seated in front of his desk in the Office that he hardly ever used. "As you know, every mage has a prophecy attached to them. I asked you all here to make sure that you all know yours," he said.  
  
  
  
"Well," Lily said, breaking the silence. "I know mine."  
  
  
  
James and Mr. Evans looked at her funnily. "What? I do." Lily said.  
  
  
  
"What is it?" Mr. Evans asked.  
  
  
  
Lily visibly blushed. "Do I have to say the riddle thingy?" Lily asked. Mr. Evans nodded his head, and Lily scowled. "I forgot some of it, so this will be how I think I remember it," she said, and was rewarded by groans.  
  
  
  
If you asked Lily something that she didn't remember, she always filled in the blanks with something . . . moronic.  
  
  
  
"But," Lily continued, as if she didn't hear the groans, "it goes something like this: The drops of Water shall quench an ever burning flame upon the birth of a Light one. With this child, the drops of Water shall be able to defeat the ultimate Dark . . ." she recited, and then furrowed her brows in concentration.  
  
  
  
"I don't remember the rest," she admitted sheepishly after a minute of thinking.  
  
  
  
Mr. Evans sighed. "It's okay, Flower."  
  
  
  
"Mine is also something like that, Daddy." Kayla said.  
  
  
  
Mr. Evans looked at Kayla questioningly. She shrugged and said, "Fire consumed by fire quenches an ultimate thirst for warmth, and a Keeper shall be born. Through the fire this keeper shall help the Guardian of the Light with knowledge, and shall eventually help save the world from a horrible dark," she said.  
  
  
  
"Sir," Sirius said, shock evident in his voice. "That was mine."  
  
  
  
Mr. Evans looked at Sirius and grinned. 'I'll be damned. They really are meant to be together,' he thought as he looked at the couple.  
  
  
  
"James?" Mr. Evans asked after a couple of minutes.  
  
  
  
James drew in a deep breath. "I only remember the finishing part of mine. But I think that it links to Lily's," he said with a glance towards her. "- Water shall embrace the Light for a final battle with Dark, and if Water has been tamed, Light shall overcome Dark for the final and last time, sending the Dark to a watery grave for the rest of time," he said looking at Lily the whole time.  
  
  
  
Mr. Evans thought about this. "They are one and the same," he said finally, drawing the attention of the four teens. "Yours and Lily's prophecy's along with Sirius's and Kayla's are the same."  
  
  
  
"What does this mean?" came the voice of Lily.  
  
  
  
Mr. Evans sighed. "From the Heart, the four saviors of the Earth shall be raised. With efficient training, these saviors shall be responsible for the defeat of Dark. That was my prophecy," he said. "You four are my prophecy," he whispered. "I was meant to put you all together, establish the friendships," he said. For this part, he glanced in between Lily and Kayla. "And nurture and love you two."  
  
  
  
"Then what was that stupid training I had to take when I was fourteen?" asked a miffed Lily.  
  
  
  
Mr. Evans chuckled. "Torture my darling. Torture. After all, there is nothing like marital arts, running, and dueling to make you feel the pain of the dead," he said grinning. "My Father did the same thing to me when I was that age," he admitted.  
  
  
  
Lily's jaw had dropped in astonishment. "That is so . . ." Lily said, searching for the right word, "wrong!" she screamed.  
  
  
  
"No, that's one of the perks of parenthood, and that was also payback for telling your mother that I had forgotten to get her a Birthday present, and totally forgot her Birthday too," he replied with a grin.  
  
  
  
Lily scowled at her father. "If I would have known that I would have been going through hell and back I wouldn't have told!" she yelled.  
  
  
  
Mr. Evans shook his head at his daughter and got up out of his chair. "That was fun to watch," he said, his grin widening in amusement.  
  
  
  
Lily gasped in outrage, and Mr. Evans thought that it'd be best to get out of the room as fast as he could. "I love you Flower, I love you Fairy," he said to Lily and Kayla before making a dash for the door before Lily could snap.  
  
  
  
Two calls of "I love you too, Daddy!" could be heard, and Mr. Evans smiled in bliss.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Lily let out a breath and scowled at the spot that he father had been sitting.  
  
  
  
"Was it really that bad?" James asked when he noticed her scowl.  
  
  
  
"Yes."  
  
  
  
James winced. 'Ouch. She's pissed,' he thought. 'She also looks very hot when she's mad too.' He grinned. James pushed himself out of his chair and walked over to the one Lily was sitting in, three feet away from his. He smiled at himself and bent to kiss her cheek, and then brought his mouth near her ear. "I'll be there at midnight. Leave the door unlocked. I'll let myself in," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear, causing her to shiver in delight.  
  
  
  
James straightened and walked towards the door with a satisfied smirk on his face. 'This is going to be a night she won't forget,' he thought, ideas popping into his head of what he could do to her, for her.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 


	21. My Heart, My Soul, My Love

Chapter 21 - My Heart, My Soul, My Love  
  
  
  
Lily paced restlessly around her room. As she passed the clock on the mantle, she glanced at it. 11:50, it read. Lily groaned and threw herself into one of the sea green armchairs in the shadows by the fireplace. 'God, I hate waiting. There is nothing worse than sitting idle,' she thought as she stared into the flames.  
  
  
  
She had retired an hour and a half ago so that she could get ready. She had the sheets warmed, lit candles all over the room, lit the fireplace, and dressed and pampered herself up. Now, she had nothing else to do. Lily groaned again, laid her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes.  
  
  
  
Moments later, Lily looked up at the sound of the door opening and smiled. James stood there in the doorway, in his pajamas searching the room for her. Lily got up and walked into his line of vision with a smile on her face.  
  
~*~*~*~*  
  
James walked into Lily's room giddy with excitement for what lay ahead for her and instantly looked towards the bed, expecting her to be waiting there. She wasn't there. With a frown gracing his handsome features, he looked around the room. He opened his mouth to say her name just as she walked away from the fireplace. She had been in the shadows of the room.  
  
  
  
He felt his temperature rise as he took notice of the black nightgown that she wore. It flowed down to the floor in black silken clouds, the slits that went up to her thighs allowed him to see her legs as she glided over to him. The nightgown hugged her curves to perfection, and made his mouth go dry thinking about all of the ways that he could get her out of it so that her body would burn with want.  
  
  
  
Lily stepped up to him and ran her hands up his chest to let them rest on his shoulders while James lifted his arms to rest against her hips. She looked at him; desire the only emotion evident in her eyes.  
  
  
  
James became entranced in her eyes. They were so beautiful. It was as if they could read your soul, your thoughts. James blinked and came out of his stupor and looked down at her lips. So full, so soft, so tempting. And the taste, the taste alone could make a man groan with pleasure. That taste was so . . . unique. No other woman he had been with could so efficiently arouse him with just one taste of her mouth. Only Lily.  
  
  
  
James lowered his head and settled his lips upon hers.  
  
  
  
Lily, in response, slid her hands into his hair and played with the black, silk strands. As his lips moved evocatively against hers, she moaned with pleasure.  
  
  
  
James began to move her back, his hard thighs brushing hers with every step he took towards the bed. He maneuvered himself, along with Lily, towards the bed and only stopped when her knees hit the edge. James broke the kiss and looked down at her, into her eyes.  
  
  
  
"I love you, Lily," he whispered as he raised his hands to push down the straps of the nightgown.  
  
  
  
"I love you too, James," she whispered back, as he began to kiss her neck and shoulders.  
  
  
  
Lily's head dropped back with a moan as his hands began to knowingly touch her body, and within seconds, he had stretched her nerves as tight as a rubber band.  
  
  
  
James quickly ridded both himself and Lily of all garments and slowly lowered her onto the bed and followed her down, all thoughts of seduction gone; his only thought was of sharing the ultimate intimacy with her.  
  
  
  
James trailed his hands down her arms and interlaced their fingers together, bringing them to rest next to Lily's head. He looked at the woman beneath him and smiled. With them, sex was never just a release; it was a way to show their love, to celebrate their love.  
  
  
  
"Lil, Honey, share with me, share all with me," he whispered as he began to enter her.  
  
  
  
James felt her flow of power and opened his mind to it, felt and saw the blue warmth of the power she released, that was hers, and unlocked his own. For the first time, they were sharing everything.  
  
  
  
When they both climaxed this time, it was different from all the other times. This time, it was sweet and long. It was mind shattering.  
  
  
  
James lowered himself down and rested his head upon Lily's breast.  
  
  
  
Lily summoned the energy she had left and raised her hand to lie on his head, stroking the damp locks as they both succumbed to slumber.  
  
~*~*~*~ 


	22. Letters Filled With Love

Chapter 22 - Letters Filled With Love  
  
  
  
  
  
Over the next seven months, the six friends kept in contact by post, Lily keeping them updated on how Mr. Evans was doing, and James, Remus, Sirius, Kayla, and Aria keeping Lily updated on what was going on at Hogwarts, and who was with who.  
  
  
  
November 14  
  
Kayla, Aria, James, Sirius, and Remus,  
  
Hi. I just thought that I'd write you guys to inform you on how things are going around here. Everything is a mess. It seems as if everything is lifeless now. Like the whole house has already gone into mourning. I think that I'm going nuts.  
  
Daddy is still trying to make the best of what time he has left, and making sure that my memories and Mama's are filled with happiness. And they are.  
  
But, he's sick again. I swear he gets sick more often than not. If he's not in bed, he's walking around coughing up a storm or sniffling every two seconds. I'm starting to get scared. Really scared. I don't know how much longer he's going to be able to get out of bed, or even move again.  
  
I don't want to lose him.  
  
Daddy's calling, so I'm going to go. I'll keep you all up to date.  
  
Oh! I do have something to ask of you all though. Please keep me informed of everything that's going on there. I don't want to come back and not know anything that had happened. And try not to get into too much trouble with out me.  
  
Love Always,  
  
Lily  
  
  
  
11-16  
  
Lily Billy,  
  
Hiya! I can't make any promises; after all, trouble is my middle name. Adopted middle name at least. We all decided that we would write our own letters to you instead of one big one. I think that it was mainly because James didn't want us to read all of his mushy stuff.  
  
We miss ya Lilly Billy.  
  
Kay and I finally announced our relationship. That had to be better than any prank that I've ever played. I thought that everybody was going to faint the way they were all looking. It was just so funny. And Avery's face, you just had to see it. It looked as if a house-elf had just clouted him upside of his head with one of those iron-cooking things . . . skillets? Is that the word? Oh well. You get my point. Don't you?  
  
The teams have been starting their Quidditch tryouts. You will never believe who the Ravenclaw team wanted to pick as your replacement captain, ready for this? Kayla. She laughed so hard when they told her this. Can you imagine Kayla being Captain? NO? That's what we thought too. But . . . we'll see. I'll let her tell you the story since if I do she'll bean me. Yikes! Imagine a dent in my pretty head. Ahh, well, I must go plot my death for Divie. Bye!  
  
The One, The Only,  
  
Sirius  
  
  
  
15 of November  
  
Lily,  
  
Hello. I'm sorry that I couldn't make it to see your father with you guys. But, well, you know my condition. I really wish that I could have though.  
  
I miss you Lily. We all do. Everything seems so quiet without the leader of the Elements in our midst. Even the Professors are missing you! Imagine that. Especially Professor Flitwick. Whenever he does roll, he pauses on your name and sighs. You always were the only one who could answer his questions.  
  
It appears that Maggie Wilson has finally broken up with Jeff Whinning by the way. Rumor goes that she caught him and Clarissa Tullbridge, you know, the fifth year Slytherin, in the broom closet next to the Library yesterday having a full out snog, and his hands up her skirts. You'll have to ask Kayla for specifics, as she is one of the few who actually witnessed this.  
  
Well, I've run out of things to think about, so I'll be going now.  
  
Keep well, Lily.  
  
Love,  
  
Remus  
  
  
  
11/15  
  
Lillia,  
  
Hi. Don't ask where the name come from. I say it's from spending too much time around Sirius. Aria claims it's from taking a dire fall when I was a baby, but I'm not all that sure about that one.  
  
I don't want Daddy to go either, Lil. I really don't, I'm going to miss him so much when he does go though. But, he gave us something that can never be taken away, Lily. He gave us love, and he gave us memories that would take a million Memory Charms to erase. Always remember that. (Can you believe that those words came from Sirius' mouth? Something has gotten into that boy.)  
  
Oh, My God! They made me Captain. I laughed till I thought that I was going to faint. But I did end up taking the position. I can't wait to see what my "leader skills" get this team into. God help us all. We're holding tryouts this weekend. I really don't want to replace you, 'cuz your going to get your position and Captainship back next year, but we have to. I was thinking about bringing the backup in, and recruiting a backup backup, if that made any sense. It didn't to me, and I wrote it! Yes, most defiantly too much time with Sirius.  
  
Well, I must start my Charms homework, and seeing as I can no longer bug you for the answers, I must do the stupid thing by myself. Bye.  
  
Give my love to Mom and Daddy.  
  
Love Forever,  
  
Kayla the Pouncer  
  
  
  
November 15  
  
Red,  
  
Hi. I miss you so much. It's weird, I'm used to having dreams about you, but I no longer have them. (Don't get in a huff, and listen to the rest before you go blowing your top.) Now all that I dream about isn't a dream, it's something that happened. The only thing that invades my mind as I sleep was that last night that we had together. I can remember every detail of that night, all the way down to every moan, every pant, and every gasp. Okay! Enough thinking about that. I wish that you were here.  
  
I've been starting the tryouts for Quidditch, and I already know that it's going to feel so weird not playing against you during the season. Not that I ever actually played you me being a seeker and you being a chaser, but I think that you get what I'm trying to say here. Hopefully, because I really don't know how else to say that.  
  
So, how are you holding up? Are you doing okay? Please don't overdue yourself and make yourself sick, I don't think that I could handle you being so.  
  
You know, I heard that the Potions Master is going up for retirement this year. I'm not sure if that's true, but if so that's going to be so . . . weird. No more Professor Davidson to make miserable. No! I will not let that happen. Hehe. All the possibilities. What are they? The possibilities, do you know what they are? No, me neither. Oh well. Looks like he's just gonna have to go then.  
  
Can you imagine how weird it'd be if they actually broke their own law and gave us a NICE potions teacher? Oh the horror! Just kidding. Well, not really, but that's neither here nor there.  
  
So, tell me. What'cha wearing? Anything that I'd be interested in taking off maybe? Hmm? Come on, you can tell me. Pleaseee! And you stop laughing at me. It's not funny. I'm a deprived young man here; I'm supposed to ask.  
  
I miss you Lils. So so so so much. By the way, Kayla and Aria are making us guys do our Christmas shopping early so that we won't complain about the stuffiness of stores this year, what do you want? Besides me that is. You're the only person I can't figure out. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing yet. I mean, if I can't figure you out, then I'd have to always be on alert, which can be good at times, but . . . I don't know the other part of my defense. Did I make any sense what so ever to you, or is it just me? God, I confuse myself. Isn't that sad? I'd make a bad lawyer, don't you think? NO, don't answer that, I don't think that I'd like to know what you think about that, or do I?  
  
I miss you Lily.  
  
I love you too, with every fiber of my soul.  
  
With all of my love,  
  
James  
  
  
  
Such letters were traded between these six past Christmas, in which Lily received a singing glass music box with the inscription, "To the one who holds my heart forever more. Love Always, James." And many other heart warming gifts from the people that she loved.  
  
  
  
They continued through the new year, with reports of Mr. Evans getting better, then through February with Mr. Evans getting sick again, March was much the same, then Easter came, and the friends went to visit for a day.  
  
  
  
After they went back to Hogwarts, Mr. Evan's health turned for the worst. Lily's letters went from two a day, to one or two every other week.  
  
  
  
Then, on May 22 the group received the letter that contained these four sentences.  
  
  
  
He died late last night. He's gone. The service is May 26, I've already sent a note to Dumbledore. I've arranged everything, just be here. 


	23. Farewell Daddy

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"For a shield form the storm  
  
For a friend  
  
For al love to keep me safe and warm  
  
I turn to you  
  
For the strength to be strong  
  
For the will to carry on . . ." - Christina Aguilera, "I turn to you"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 22 - Farewell Daddy  
  
  
  
  
  
May 26 came all too fast for some people.  
  
  
  
Inside of a dark, cold room, a lone girl with red hair sat, her shoulders heaving with sobs, and the sound echoed through the usually cheerful bedroom.  
  
  
  
All of the drapes were drawn against the ever-present glare of the sun, not one single ray of light was emitted into the room. The fire had been put out many hours ago.  
  
  
  
"Why? Why did you take him from me?" was the mantra that echoed in the otherwise silent room.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
James cleared the fireplace as soon as he arrived at the Evans Manor. Soon afterwards, Sirius, Kayla, Remus, and Aria were assembled in the wide entrance hall. Simultaneously, the five friends looked down at their black attire and brushed off the soot that had managed to get on them.  
  
  
  
  
  
Kayla glanced up at James as she brushed the skirt of her long, black dress. "James," she whispered her voice hoarse from crying so much. "I think that you better be the one to go and see Lily first.  
  
  
  
"I think," she broke off, her voice starting to crumble. Kayla took a deep breath, determined to finish what she wanted to say before she started to cry again. "I think that she'd appreciate it more if you were there to comfort her more than anyone else."  
  
  
  
James looked up from his sleeves at the sound of his name and looked straight into Kayla's eyes. He nodded his agreement to what she had to say and looked gravely at the winding marble stairs that he knew led up to Lily's room.  
  
  
  
He released a sigh and began walking towards them, scared to his marrow of what he might find once he reached her room. 'Will she even let me near her?' he wondered as he started down the hall that led to her room. 'Will she even talk to me? Will she even accept any-' he suddenly snapped out of his daze and realized that he had arrived at Lily's room. He looked at the wood paneling, trying to figure out what to do next.  
  
  
  
When he realized that the only thing that there was to do was to open the door and comfort his girlfriend, he ran a nervous hand through his hair before he laid his hand on the brass doorknob.  
  
  
  
The first thing James noticed as he stepped into the room was the darkness. He had to squint his eyes to make out the form of his girlfriend, sitting on the edge of her bed crying. Then he noticed the coldness as he shut the door and walk over to her on silent feet.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lily jumped as she felt a warm, hard arm wrap around her shoulders and pull her face towards the shoulder. Lily could smell his cologne. It was so . . . male, so him. "James," she whispered on a sob. "He's gone, James, gone!" she cried out as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in the hollow of his neck, and clutched him to her as if her every life depended on it. Which in her opinion, it did.  
  
  
  
"Shh. It's okay Lily, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Shhh," James whispered soothingly to her as he gently rubbed his hands in circles on her back in an attempt to soothe her.  
  
  
  
Eventually Lily's sobs quieted and she began to hiccup a little. "My head hurts, my heart hurts, and I don't even think that I have the strength to walk anymore," Lily said quietly, her voice going hoarse from her crying.  
  
  
  
"It's okay," James said as he leaned back so that he could get a good look at her. "I'll help you walk, we can perform a headache spell on you, and eventually your heart will stop aching."  
  
  
  
Lily looked up, into his eyes and stared at him. "Do you really think so?" she asked, referring to her pain going away, because at this point, she really didn't think that it was possible for it to do so.  
  
  
  
James looked down at his girlfriend and smirked. "Am I ever wrong?" he asked, trying to coax a smile out of her before they had to go to the service.  
  
  
  
Lily narrowed her eyes at him and haughtily replied, "Yes. You were wrong when you said that we'd never get caught when we did that prank on the Slytherins two years ago when we had to actually go into the dorms. And you were wrong when you said that that stupid idiot of a squid was friendly. And you were wrong when you said that Professor McGonagall was nice. And you were wrong when you said-"  
  
  
  
"Okay! I get the point, I get the point!" James yelled out in defeat. So, he'd been wrong a 'few' times, it was normal. And then James' eyes narrowed in thought.  
  
  
  
"When did I ever say that the squid was nice?" he asked, trying to remember when he would have said that, considering that thing always tried to get him in the water.  
  
  
  
"First year, when we were on the boats going across the lake, and the boat tipped over because Sirius thought that it'd be funny to plant a handful of Fireworks in Kayla's hair. Which, of course, made her get up and turn around after she put out the fire that had started in her hair and try to punch Sirius, but she ended up over balancing the boat, and the four of us all tipped over and ended up in the lake," she explained, her eyes twinkling a little at the memory.  
  
  
  
James thought about this and smiled. He remembered that moment perfectly, because his favorite part of that story is when they finally reached the Great Hall, and were waiting for Professor Peirt - the headmistress from their first year - and Kayla turned around and socked Sirius in the stomach right when the doors opened.  
  
  
  
Just then, someone knocked on the door, making both Lily and James look at it and snap out of their memories.  
  
  
  
"Come in." Lily called in a small voice, fearing that it was someone who had come to tell her that it was time for the service to start.  
  
  
  
Kayla's head sneaked from around the corner of the door and searched the dark contents of the room. "Lily?" she called out when she couldn't find her.  
  
  
  
"On the bed." Was all that Kayla could hear, and she assumed that it was Lily's voice, but it sounded so . . . small to her.  
  
  
  
Kayla stepped away from the door, made sure that Sirius was following her, and began to make her way towards the bed, hoping that everything was how it was normally so that she didn't end up tripping on anything. 'Sirius,' she thought, 'could find his own way around, and trip all he wants.'  
  
  
  
Kayla came to a stop in front of Lily and squinted in an attempt to see her. She sighed and walked over to a curtain and opened it an inch, just enough to let a ray of light into the otherwise dark room.  
  
  
  
She then turned her attention back to her friend, her sister, and gazed at her. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying, she had tear stains on her cheeks, but other than that and the pallor of her skin, she looked clean and proper in her knee length black dress with a square cut bust line, and two inch thick shoulder straps, black shoes, and her hair up in a French twist.  
  
  
  
Kayla then walked back over to Lily, knelt before her, and laid her head on Lily's knees as she always had when she needed comfort from something.  
  
  
  
"God," Kayla whispered as she felt tears prick her eyes again. She fought them, and when she was sure that she had won the battle she stood back up and faced Lily again.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Lily looked at Kayla, and saw the tears shimmering in her eyes, the red, puff skin around them, and the deathly white color of her normally tan skin. She ignored the loud "omphf" that came from Sirius as he was still trying to find his way across her room, and concentrated on Kayla.  
  
  
  
She was wearing a long, full-skirted dress that had a slit that went to mid- thigh on one side, a scoop neckline, and long fit sleeves. Her black, curly hair was in a low, sophisticated bun, and her feet, to Lily's shock, were incased in heels.  
  
  
  
"Lily," Kayla said, and with that one word, she knew why Kayla had come here. It was time. It was time to go and say her final good-byes.  
  
  
  
Lily felt tears slide down her cheeks again, but paid them no heed as she slowly stood up. She could feel James' arms supporting her as she wobbled, and one of his arms slide safely around her waist as she began to walk towards the door. Lily stopped and, without turning held out her hand.  
  
  
  
Kayla came up and grasped onto her hand, and felt Sirius slide his arm around her waist, much as James had done with Lily. The group made their way down the stairs slowly, no one talking, too lost in their thoughts to start up a conversation.  
  
  
  
James looked down at his black arms sleeves on his tux, just thinking about how different things could be if Mr. Evans was still here.  
  
  
  
On the opposite end, Sirius was doing much the same.  
  
  
  
Before any of them had even noticed that they had begun to walk outside, they were inside of the small, intimate church that was placed on the grounds of the manor. They all began to make their way up front to the seats that had been saved for them. Lily sat next to her crying mother, and James sat next to Lily, pausing to kiss Alexandra on the cheek before sitting down. Sirius and Kayla sat down on the pew across from them along with Aria and Remus.  
  
  
  
"Go sit with your own family, Potter," Petunia hissed as he sat next to her. James looked at the blonde haired woman with disgust, and then looked away. In all truth, Petunia Dursely looked as if she had done some serious years on crack. Her face was hollow and thin in some places, and her eyes seemed to be sunken into her head. 'The years had not been pleasant for this young . . . lady,' James mused.  
  
  
  
Suddenly, the priest began the ceremony and James adverted his attention to him.  
  
  
  
Somewhere in the middle of the never ending ceremony - or at least it seemed like it - the priest asked for the people who would be sharing their memories. Lily stood up shakily and made her way to the podium.  
  
  
  
"Even though God chose him to part,  
  
He'll always be with us inside the heart.  
  
He's not gone forever though;  
  
We'll be with him again, this I know.  
  
  
  
He's in a whole new world now,  
  
And he'll send us, he'll show us how.  
  
He'll show us how to live on strong.  
  
He's in Heaven, where he belongs.  
  
  
  
We'll never know why God chose him to go;  
  
It was just his time and he let us know.  
  
The angels were calling on him that night,  
  
And he felt safe to give up his fight.  
  
  
  
He's at peace now forevermore;  
  
We have to remember he'll never again be sore.  
  
He's not in any pain at all;  
  
He's up in Heaven, standing tall.  
  
  
  
Just one last thing before I end,  
  
One last message I have to send. I love you, Dad, with all my heart.  
  
I always have, right from the start." Lily began, her voice breaking with the last two verses.  
  
  
  
"My Father was everything to me, he was my role model, he was my friend, he was . . .well, my Father. I loved him, with everything I had, and I never thought that I'd love another like him until nine months ago, but that is neither here nor there in this speech.  
  
  
  
"I remember when I was about twelve years old, I had just gotten home from school, and he was waiting for me by the door. He didn't even give me time to put my things away, all he did was pick me up, throw me over his shoulder and walk out towards the beach. Turns out that he only wanted to throw me into the water, but I remember just feeling like I was on top of the world for ten seconds before I hit that water. Then he came in with me, and that feeling returned. I knew, I knew that he loved me, that he missed me, that he'd do anything for me in that moment.  
  
  
  
"He was always trying to protect me, save me from anything and everything, most commonly boys - which got on my nerves very often - and I really don't think that I ever got to thank him for that," she said, her voice starting to hitch with emotions.  
  
  
  
"One thing that I am glad of though, is that the last thing that he had heard coming out of my mouth is, 'I love you so much Daddy, and I always will.' Some kids let their parents go and their last words to them were mean, or they left things unsaid, or they whished that they could have muttered those three words at least one more time, I'm not one of them. I know that he would come back from the dead and beat me silly with a frying pan if I ever even thought about wanting to change how things have already turned out. Wait," Lily said as an after thought. "Maybe I should think about it. Hear that Dad? Now, will you pop up with that frying pan now?" she asked on a sob, and received a few chuckles from some people.  
  
  
  
"But anyways, my Father has to be the most . . . loving, caring, sweet, nice, decent person that I know. I will always remember sitting by the fire having a marshmallow fight with him because he decided that he wanted to steal one of my many pillows. And I will always remember him trying to suck up to mom when she caught us with marshmallows in our hair, in the fire, on the couches, everywhere. That didn't work mind you, but I remember the four hours that it took us to clean that stupid room up, and falling asleep in his arms when we became too tired to get up and move off of the couch. Those are the things that I've decided to remember about him, and I've decided to try to wipe out all of the memories of him shooing my boyfriends away, of him telling me no, and of him making me mad at him in any way.  
  
  
  
"This speech might not have helped you get what I'm trying to talk about, so I'll tell you. You'll never in a million years, find another Nicolas Tristian Evans. If you do, please make sure that it is not my Father. Now, if it is, please send him back so that I can make sure that he learns his lesson.  
  
  
  
"I do have one thing that I will always regret," Lily said after the chuckles died down, and everything became silent in the intimate and packed church. "I will always regret that he will never be able to play, and be able to teach my children what he has taught me. That, is something that I will always wish that I could change," she said, then broke down and cried as she sat back down in between her mother and James.  
  
  
  
James knew that he was blushing at the mention of children, but didn't care. He slid his arms around Lily and held her to him as she cried.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"The first time I started to think of Mr. Evans as Dad was when I was about 10. I had been staying over with Lily and her family because my parents were on a trip, and this particular night, I was reading a book in his library. This was a place you quickly learned to stay out of unless you wanted to get your head cut off. But anyways, I was reading a book, 'Oliver Twist' to be exact, but I was having some troubles understanding some of the words. So Mr. Evans walks in and looks at me with his brow raised in a question that you just knew meant, 'What are you doing?' I smiled at him and asked him if he could help me finish reading that book, since I liked it and wanted to finish it.  
  
  
  
"I thought that he was going to say no and get out of my library, but all he did was smile at me, walk over to the couch and sit next to me. He then threw his arm on the back of the couch, over my head, and told me to read. That night, I fell asleep in his lap reading. The next morning I woke up on the same couch, in the same position. It seems as if he had a fondness for falling asleep on the couches, for that was what he was doing.  
  
  
  
"I remember just looking at him, and wishing that he was my Father, that just for once I could call him my Father." She whispered, but it was still heard due to the microphone that was on the podium. "He woke up, and I remember him looking at me, and before I could stop myself I had called him, 'Father'. I was so horrified! What would he do, what would he say? But, all he did was smile at me and say, 'I'd love to have you as a daughter. It seems as if you're here enough to be thought as one.' And ever since that day, that's what he has been to me. My Father.  
  
  
  
"He might not have been the person responsible for my being here, but in many ways, he is my Father. He taught me how to love, he taught me right and wrong, he taught me everything worth knowing. And he saved me and sheltered me, and nourished me back to health in my darkest hour in my life. He is the one that I will always remember being there." She said as she swiped away the tears the insisted on falling down her cheeks and made her way back to Sirius, who kissed her temple and got up.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
James, Sirius, Remus, Richard - Mr. Evans friend, William- Sirius' Dad, and James' Father Michael, all stood up and walked over to the coffin and lifted it up. As they walked down the hall, people began to file out of their seats and follow. Lily, Kayla, Alexandra, and Aria being in the lead.  
  
  
  
  
  
As everyone reached the gravesite, the tears became heavier, the sobs louder, and the gloomy atmosphere gloomier.  
  
  
  
As everyone said their last good-byes, the clouds began to come in and drip rain on the occupants around the grave. Slowly, one by one, friends and family began dropping flowers by his coffin. Then, as a team, Tiffany Potter - James' Mother, Lily, Alexandra, Kayla, Aria, and Dianna Black - Sirius's Mother, all walked up to the coffin itself, looking almost as if this was planned before hand, and placed a single flower on it.  
  
  
  
Lily's was a single white Lily.  
  
  
  
Kayla's was a white tulip.  
  
  
  
Aria's was a sprig of Lavender.  
  
  
  
Lastly, the respected Mother's all held a vibrant red rose and placed it on the coffin and Alexandra then withdrew another rose, this one white and laid it upon them also.  
  
  
  
With this done, the lady's stepped back, one by one into the arms of loved ones.  
  
  
  
Everyone watched as the coffin was slowly lowered to the ground, then just as slowly started to leave. Soon, the only ones left were Kayla, Sirius, Lily, James, Aria, Remus, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, Alexandra, Mr. and Mrs. Black, and the couple who had remained quiet the whole time, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin.  
  
  
  
They all looked down at the newly turned ground and then back up, into the eyes of others before turning as a group for the house.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: The poem that Lily recites is called, "Dad" by Katrina Eileen Kirk. 


	24. Life Goes On

Chapter 24 - Life Goes On  
  
  
  
  
  
Three mornings later, Lily sat down on the sand and just looked over the ocean, towards the horizon, remembering all of the good times that were spent sitting on this beach, laughing, playing, joking, and talking. And remembering how much her father loved the ocean.  
  
  
  
Ever since she could remember, she had always been puzzled on why he was always so captivated by this particular element. Even though she represented the ocean, the sea, and everything that was water, even though her power was drawn from this element, she could never figure out why he found the ocean so alluring.  
  
  
  
Until now that is.  
  
  
  
Looking at it, seeing it rise and fall, made her realize, no matter what, after battles are fought, after lovers are separated, and after deaths, the world still goes on, the earth still beats its ever energetic rhythm. Everything is still moving. The world doesn't stop just because you lose something.  
  
  
  
Her father would have saw, and appreciated the significance of that. He would have lived by that single rule; No matter what happens in your life, the world still turns and breathes. It still lives.  
  
  
  
Lily slowly raised herself from the sand and walked towards the surf. She stopped walking when the water raised to her knees, and raised her arms and readied to jump in.  
  
  
  
"No, Lily!" Sirius yelled upon seeing her in the water.  
  
  
  
"Lily! No! Don't!" James and Kayla screamed as they all began to sprint down the beach towards her, which wasn't easy considering they were running on lose sand.  
  
  
  
Lily turned around with a confused expression towards her friends and then laughed with realization. 'They think that I'm going to kill myself,' she thought to herself.  
  
  
  
The trio sloshed into the water, braving the force of the tide and stood before her panting and trying to look at her dangerously at the same time.  
  
  
  
"I'm not going to kill myself you idiots!" she said with a smile towards them. Lily turned away from them and looked out over the ocean, and then turned back with a smile on her face. "Come swim with me," she said with a grin and turned back around once again. She looked over her shoulder to see James, Sirius, and Kayla look at her blankly.  
  
  
  
Lily smiled to herself and dove under the incoming wave. She surfaced a yard or two away from them and yelled out, "Come on you wussies!" That of course got their attention, and they soon followed her example, and dove underwater towards her.  
  
  
  
The rest of the morning was spent for the first time since any of them found out about the death of Mr. Nicolas Evans having fun, acting like children, and splashing and making noise in the water. Truth to say, they were having the time of their lives dunking each other, racing each other, and had even more fun when they bribed, and tricked Remus and Aria to come and join the fun in the water.  
  
  
  
"Lily Nicole Evans! If I didn't know better, I'd say that the Cammy in you has broken out once again!" Lily's mother yelled out in amusement.  
  
  
  
Lily stopped in the act of dunking Sirius and looked at her mother in astonishment. Her mother sounded happy! Just then though, Sirius decided not to waste the opportunity and dunked Lily. She came back up sputtering, glared at Sirius and splashed him before turning back to her mom.  
  
  
  
Lily quickly thought of a reply - of course, it had to be cheeky! "But Mum, I just wanna be her for one day," she yelled back with a grin. Lily and Camilla would always pretend when she was still alive that they were the other twin, so Lily would be Cammy, and Cammy would be Lily. It drove their parents nuts!  
  
  
  
Lily got the answer she wanted for that, a smile. "Come in, the water's great! I'll race ya!" she yelled out again. She looked down and muttered to herself. "And maybe this time I'll actually win."  
  
  
  
The next time that she looked up though, her mother was gone! Lily looked everywhere, to her left, to the right, she scanned the beach, the walkway up to the house, and she wasn't anywhere. Lily lowered her eyes from the top of the walkway and looked in front of her, and screamed in surprise. Her mom was treading water right in front of her.  
  
  
  
Lily slapped a hand on her heart in an attempt to get it beating again. "Don't DO that!" she yelled breathlessly. She heard six chuckles, and turned around to glare at her friends, then her mom. She then grinned. "Same distance as always, and same marker?" she asked her mother.  
  
  
  
Lily's mom had been on a swim team from when she saw 12 till she was 26, and she had always done the last leg, and Lily had been trying to beat her for the longest time. She would come in a second later, but never before her.  
  
  
  
Alexandra grinned at her daughter and in the chirpiest tone she could manage said, "Yep!" she then turned to James and smiled at him. "James, darling, would you mind judging who wins?" she asked.  
  
  
  
James face looked stricken. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no. No way are you getting me into this. Last time I had to decide the winner, I got my head practically bitten off! No! Pick Sirius, he's used to getting abused by females!" he cried out.  
  
  
  
"Yay!" Sirius said. "I'll do it, Alley Walley!" he said in a singsong voice to Alexandra.  
  
  
  
"Good. Now, will you start us?" she asked as she and Lily lined up. Sirius nodded and counted. "Uh. 1! What- oh, 2! Lets see, the next number is 3!" he yelled, and then the two women were off. No one could tell who was in the lead from where they were treading water, but they had a feeling that it was Alexandra. Lets just call it a hunch.  
  
  
  
They doubled back, and they could see that they were right. Alexandra came in close to a millisecond before Lily did. It was actually funny, Lily was treading water, breathing deeply, glaring at her mother, while Alexandra was doing much the same, except she was grinning.  
  
  
  
"How . . . Do . . . You . . . Do that?!" Lily panted out.  
  
  
  
"Years and years . . . of practice my love." She said, only slightly winded from the extrusion.  
  
  
  
Lily continued to glare at her mother, then cried out, "One of these days I am going to beat you Alexandra Marie Evans!" Her mother gave her a chuckle, leaned over to give her a peck on the forehead, and said, "I'm going in to eat. I came out to tell you guys that lunch is in the garden if you're hungry."  
  
  
  
"Food!" the three boys yelled in unison before they started to race for the shore.  
  
  
  
The four girls rolled their eyes and settled for a slower pace to the shore. "Oh, Hurry up!" was the muffled cry from the beach as the girls swam.  
  
  
  
Lily chuckled to herself and decided that she was going to let James be the first to get lunch and lengthened her strokes as much as she could, having just finished about a mile worth of racing.  
  
  
  
Lily surfaced in the shallow water, and waded her way up towards the beach, her jean pants heavy with water, slowing her down more than she bargained that they would. She looped her arm through James's and steered him towards the stairs.  
  
  
  
"You know," she said as they walked. "Jeans can get really heavy when they're soaked." Lily looked at James and tilted her head. "It makes you feel as if you just gained a hundred and fifty pounds within two seconds," she said with a nod of her head.  
  
  
  
James raised his eyebrows and looked down at her. "You're weird, and you come up with some of the craziest things that I've ever heard. And that's saying something seeing as I have shared a dorm room with Sirius for six years and have had been in the same room as him more times than God himself can count," he said. "And that is why I love ya," he added with a smile when he saw her eyes begin to narrow. It didn't help.  
  
  
  
"Don't think that you're going to get away with that Mr. Potter. To believe that anyone can come up with weirder comments than Sirius is unthinkable!" she said in a huff as they neared the table that was set up in a clearing in the gardens.  
  
  
  
"No, don't say anything, just stuff your face with food." She told him with a wave of her hand when he opened his mouth to say something in his defense. He must have decided that he was better off keeping his mouth shut because he closed his mouth, smiled at Lily, kissed her quickly on the cheek, pulled out her chair for her, then pushed her in, and then sat down next to her and began to pile food a mile high on his plate.  
  
  
  
Lily's nose scrunched up in disgust at the mixtures of food that he had on his plate, in her opinion, peas, broccoli and Linguini with red sauce on it. She shook her head and took some of the Linguini and red sauce and put it on her plate and started to eat.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Later that night, Lily sat in her room on the window seat, looking out the window at the star filled sky. She heard her door click open and glanced over to see Kayla, Aria, James, Remus and Sirius filling in around the door. She smiled and beckoned them in.  
  
  
  
James decided to sit in the chair across from her, while Kayla decided to make Lily lift her feet so that she could sit on the window seat too, and Sirius took the twin to James' chair and sat across from Kayla. Remus decided to sit on the floor, while Aria sat down on the floor and leaned against the window seat.  
  
  
  
They ended up staying up into the small hours of the morning, talking and laughing about old memories, at Sirius, and just enjoying each others company for the first time in what has been months.  
  
  
  
The last thought that went through Lily's head as she drifted off to sleep was that this was the most that she had laughed in the past week, and she missed it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: I hope that this changed the mood a little for you guys! I tried my hardest to do so. And since I've already been asked this, the last conversation - the one after they get out of the water - was just something that I put in to fill the space. It doesn't have any significance to this story.  
  
Oh, and I just thought that I'd let you know that I'm not stopping this chapter until the end of 7th year.  
  
Thank you for all of the lovely reviews.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	25. Summer Boredom

Chapter 25 - Summer Boredom  
  
  
  
A week after Mr. Evans funeral James, Sirius, Remus, Kayla, and Aria returned to Hogwarts to begin their O.W.L's while Lily stayed at home to do hers.  
  
  
  
They all passed with flying colors, including Sirius! James and Lily tied for first, Lily getting the Highest Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and History of Magic scores, while James got the highest Transfiguration, Potions - beating Snape by two points, which gave James much satisfaction knowing that he beat Snape in everything, including getting the girl - and to the amazement of all, he also received the highest marks in Divination. Due to the fact that both James and Lily have had more detentions than they can even begin to count, they were unable to grab the Head girl and boy position. Which was exactly what they wanted. They didn't want all of the responsibilities of planning everything, and making sure that everybody was in bed at the right time, especially since they never obeyed that rule themselves. They wanted to have fun!  
  
  
  
Kayla and Aria made it in the top 5, with Remus and Sirius were in the top 10.  
  
  
  
So, all in all, they all did amazingly well considering all that they'd gone through this year.  
  
  
  
Then summer came. The long, lazy days, of summer. And, the six friends were dying of boredom.  
  
  
  
And that was only four days into the vacation!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lily was laying on her back on the beach tanning, and trying to think of something to do. Anything to do! She groaned and turned over and rested her chin on her folded arms. 'I'm going to die of boredom. I'm never going to see another day. I mean, surely if I go through another day like this, the world is just going to crumble away,' she thought to herself miserably.  
  
  
  
"This is going to be a long summer," she complained out loud.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
James sat astride his StarGalaxy 5000, the fastest broom known - for the moment at least - and sighed. It was no fun ridding if no one was there to race! He tilted his broom down so that he could land outside the stands of his small, home Quidditch field.  
  
  
  
'This has to be the boringest summer I have ever had,' he mentally complained.  
  
  
  
James landed and picked up his broom and headed over towards the broom closet to store it away, thinking the whole way about what could be done to liven up the summer.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Sirius stood in the kitchen looking at all of the food and tried to decide what he wanted to eat. When he couldn't decide, he shrugged his shoulders and put some of everything on his plate. He put one of his elbows on the table, leaned his head against his hand, and with the other hand slowly brought his food to his mouth. "I feel as if I can go to sleep and never wake up," he muttered to himself as he eyelids started to get heavy.  
  
  
  
"Someone has got to be doing something!" he said in a spurt of energy.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kayla lay asleep on her bed, ignoring the fighting that was going on down the hall, and dreamed about this particular guy that had midnight black hair, dark chocolate eyes, and stood somewhere around 6'3''.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Aria was sitting at a park bench watching her mothers friends' daughter play on the swing and reading a book.  
  
  
  
She glanced up from the novel, the Prince and the Pauper, by Mark Twain, and searched for the six-year-old girl. As soon she saw her, Aria went back to her novel, then carefully marked her place and laid it down besides her and sighed.  
  
  
  
'And here I thought that this summer would be fun.,' she thought as she got up to go play with the little girl. At least she was having fun.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Remus at the moment was catching up on his sleep since last night wasn't all that nice on him, being the full moon and everything.  
  
  
  
During the summer, the guys weren't there for him, and it was always hard after getting used to being calmer during his transformation. He was drained out of all energy after last night.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
And on went the everlasting summer.  
  
  
  
Finally, they all got their book lists, and planned on meeting each other the following Tuesday to get everything that they needed for the next year.  
  
  
  
For some reason, it never occurred to the friends to actually plan meetings during the summer. They all seemed to have the same thoughts going through all of their equally hard heads; maybe they need time to get back on track from the loss. (Mainly referring to Lily and Kayla, but the boys would feel sort of weird meeting without the girls.) 


	26. Fun At Diagon Alley

Chapter 26 - Fun at Diagon Alley  
  
  
  
  
  
Finally, Tuesday, August 21, had arrived! And any moment, everybody would be meeting up in the Leaky Cauldron for a drink before going shopping.  
  
  
  
Lily arrived first, wearing black jeans, to fit into the English climate, a white scoop neck sweater, and a black wizards robe, and found a large booth for them all to sit at. Next to arrive was Aria, who was wearing white pants and a dark blue turtle neck sweater and was sporting a navy blue robe to match, and she spotted Lily within a second, and with a cry of joy ran for her and enveloped her in a giant hug. "I missed you Hunter!" she cried out. Lily chuckled and eased out of the embrace.  
  
  
  
"I missed you too, Aradriana," she said with a smile.  
  
  
  
Just then, a scream. "Lily! Aria! James! Sirius! Remus! Any of you here yet?"  
  
  
  
Lily and Aria turned towards the noise with a grin. "Pouncy!" Lily yelled out, causing everyone in the room to look at the three girls with glowering glances for being so loud. They didn't see or feel them though, they were used to being looked at weirdly for being so loud.  
  
  
  
Kayla skipped over to her friends and sat on Lily's lap, hugged her, then dragged Aria down by the neck to hug her.  
  
  
  
Lily looked at Kayla's outfit of red pants, black shirt, and a black robe and smiled. She always did like those colors for some reason.  
  
  
  
"So, how was your summer?" Kayla asked as she scooted off Lily's lap into the space besides her.  
  
  
  
"Boring!" Lily and Aria cried out together.  
  
  
  
Kayla looked at them and muttered, "Damn!" Lily looked at her friend, then looked around to see if there was anyone who would evoke such a comment out of her mouth. After finding no one, she turned back to her friend with a raised eyebrow.  
  
  
  
Kayla blushed a pretty pink and said, "I was hoping that someone could tell me something exciting that they did this summer, as mine was colossally boring."  
  
  
  
"Nope, can't say that I've had any better luck than you," a male voice sounded from behind the three girls who were sitting on the same bench.  
  
  
  
They turned around to see James standing there with a grin, and Peter looking grumpily on.  
  
  
  
"James!" Lily cried in excitement upon seeing her boyfriend standing there looking as handsome as ever in dark blue pants and a simple white shirt with a black robe thrown carelessly over his big, strong shoulders. She put her knees on the bench and turned fully around to face him. She leaned over the backing of the booth and kissed him quickly, not wanting the elders to see. Lily pulled back and grinned.  
  
  
  
"What, no girls?" she asked. James stuck his tongue out at her, made his way to the other side, and sat down.  
  
  
  
Peter pulled a chair over to the table and sat down at the corner, not wanting to be across from any of the girls. They would probably just end up kicking him the whole time if he did.  
  
  
  
Aria, always being the nice one, asked Peter, "And how was your summer?" Peter shrugged and looked at the wall.  
  
  
  
Sirius and Remus made their way over to the table and surprised their girlfriends by bending over the sides and kissing their cheeks. Both girls jumped a mile high into the air.  
  
  
  
"Don't do that! What are you trying to do, kill me, Black!" Kayla screamed at him.  
  
  
  
Sirius grinned then made his way over to the long leather seat that James and Remus were sitting on. "But of course not. I wouldn't want to kill you until you gave me at least 2.5 children." Kayla glared very sharp daggers at him and gave him the finger.  
  
  
  
"Any time my dear, any time. Just give me the place," Sirius said slyly.  
  
  
  
Kayla looked Sirius over the best that she could considering he was sitting down, and took in his dark green sweater, the black pants that she saw on him and the green robe, and inwardly grinning to herself, said out loud. "Nah, I think that I'll pass." Sirius just opened his mouth to speak when Kayla continued.  
  
  
  
"I think that I'll go with Remus if you don't mind. He looks so sexy in his black pants and gray sweater and robe," she said, making Remus blush. Aria, Lily, and James laughed. Sirius was surrendered speechless - for once in his life. Just then -  
  
  
  
"What can I get ya's?" the waiter came by and asked, holding up a notebook looking thing and a quill.  
  
  
  
"Umm," Lily said, "I'll have a glass of water."  
  
  
  
A response of, "Same," went around, since all the Leaky Cauldron had in the middle of the morning to serve was liquor or disgusting gruel. The waiter raised his eyebrows, but neverless, summoned seven waters.  
  
  
  
"Hey, look," Peter said after he took a gulp of his water. "I'm meeting some other friends, so I'm going to go okay?" he said and stood up and left without even letting them say goodbye.  
  
  
  
Lily looked at the three remaining Marauders and asked, "What was that about?"  
  
  
  
They, just as confused, shrugged their shoulders. "Now, how are we going about with all of this shopping?" Remus asked.  
  
  
  
Everyone looked at each other, expecting someone to come up with an idea. Finally, after much silence, Lily rolled her eyes and said, "We can either break up into groups for a while then meet up some place and begin school shopping, or we can all herd around together."  
  
  
  
As if upon previous agreement, they all said, "Couple splits!"  
  
  
  
Lily chuckled and looked at James. "Ready?" she asked. He nodded his head, and Lily looked at the others.  
  
  
  
"Okay, it's 11:20 now, so how about we meet up at 12:30 at the book store?" Lily asked. After receiving nods of agreement, Lily elbowed Kayla off the bench so that she could get up and grinned at her. Kayla in return stuck her tongue out at her and laughed. Lily shook her head and linked hands with James. The rest of the group soon followed suit, and they were all walking into the back of the Leaky Cauldron and tapping the bricks so that they could get inside of Diagon Alley.  
  
  
  
James and Lily made a beeline for Quality Quidditch, Remus and Aria went for the Ice Cream parlor, and Kayla and Sirius headed for wherever candy was sold.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
James and Lily walked into the Quidditch store hand in hand, and looked as if they were in heaven.  
  
  
  
They emerged thirty minutes later, each with two bags to themselves, and many things to make their quidditch season easier next year.  
  
  
  
"Where do you want to go next, honey?" James asked as he slid free arm around Lily's waist.  
  
  
  
Lily's brows furrowed in thought. "Food. Anywhere with edible food," she replied. "And actual meals," she added, remembering the time when she had complained to Sirius and James that she was hungry and they brought her to the nearest candy store.  
  
  
  
James nodded his head and steered her towards a little restaurant that was settled in between a store called, 'Magical Day Jewelers' and a very small shop called 'Knickknacks For All Occasions'. They picked a table outside, facing away from the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley and picked up the forest green menus.  
  
  
  
"What are you going to have?" Lily asked James after she quickly scanned the menu.  
  
  
  
James lifted his head from looking at his suggestions and said, "I think that I'm going to order the Shepard's Pie. What about you?" he asked.  
  
  
  
Lily frowned at her selections with consideration. "Hmmm." She said. "I think that I'll have the . . . Chicken and Herb," she said. James nodded distractedly.  
  
  
  
"Lils, could you order for me? I need to go do something really quick," James asked suddenly.  
  
  
  
Lily arched a brow and looked at him, agreeing to nothing. "And just what is this something?" she asked while she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, all the while keeping her eyes on James.  
  
  
  
"I need to go and get someone who I don't want to know a present for something, but I don't want to get it at Hogsmeade. They probably wouldn't even sell what I want there anyways," he said, looking Lily straight in the eye.  
  
  
  
Lily sighed and nodded. " Do you want any side orders?" she asked as he sprung up from his chair.  
  
  
  
James grinned cheekily and nodded. "Some trees, please, with cheese on them." (A/N: trees is my opinion of broccoli. Yuck.) he said as he leaned over and gave Lily a chaste kiss on the lips.  
  
  
  
Lily sighed again and called out, "Just be back before the meal comes!" James waved a hand over his shoulder in acknowledgement and made his way towards the front of the restaurant.  
  
  
  
Lily sighed for the third time since she had entered the restaurant. 'What is that man up to?' she wondered as the waitress sauntered her way over, looking a little disappointed about something as she looked at the chair that James had vacated moments ago. 'Try and die.' She thought to herself as she glared at the waitress and placed their orders.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
James walked into 'Magical Day Jewelers' and started to look around. He had gotten everything except the ring. Even there he knew what he wanted.  
  
  
  
James heard the bell that was situated above the door jingle and looked over. And there stood Sirius. James grinned. "Hey Padfoot."  
  
Sirius jumped at the sound of his nickname, looked in James' direction, and grinned. "Looks like both of us are doomed for hell at such an early age," Sirius said as he walked over to James.  
  
  
  
James chuckled. "Looks like it. I really can't imagine not living my life without her, and I figure the only way to keep her close is marriage, so here I am." Sirius looked at him with understanding.  
  
  
  
"I know what you mean. You know," Sirius said as they began to brose the rings. "I never figured that all those years of secretly loving Kayla would pay off. Hell, I thought that I'd get married and still be hitting on her. Sad as that is. And look at where I am now. You'd think that I was dead and in heaven. Picking out a ring with the right girl's face attached." Sirius ended with a dreamy smile and his eyes starting to get that far away, dreamy look in them.  
  
  
  
James, upon seeing this laughed. "Sirius, my friend. If you're anything like me, and how I left Lily you better snap out of it before Kayla comes looking for you and finds you." James said, and Sirius' eyes automatically cleared. James hid his smile.  
  
  
  
"Hello sirs. Do you know what you are looking for?" asked a clear, strong, male voice from behind the duo.  
  
  
  
James turned first and said, "Yes. Or, I do at least." He cleared up, letting the clerk know that they were both shopping for something.  
  
  
  
The young man with the shaggy brown hair and dark brown eyes nodded his head and started towards them.  
  
  
  
"You don't mind waiting while I deal with him first, do you sir?" the clerk asked Sirius as he slid behind the glass counters by the rings that they were looking at.  
  
  
  
Sirius shook his head and continued looking.  
  
  
  
"I wanted two diamonds, princess cut, and then two sapphires on the outsides of the diamonds, same cut, and on a white gold band." James said to the clerk, who in turn nodded his head and said, "I have just the thing," and disappeared into the back room.  
  
  
  
Sirius turned towards James. "You know, I'm getting almost the same exact thing for Kay, except it'll be rubies instead. What made you think of sapphires?" he asked.  
  
  
  
James smiled. "She's my other half. Magically, physically, mentally, and in every other way," he replied. "I take it, that it's the same thing with you and Kay's?" James asked and shot a sly look towards Sirius, who just nodded. James laughed.  
  
  
  
"It's creepy you know." James said after he stopped. "We fall for almost two of a kind. Not in personalities necessarily, but in . . . I don't know, spirit, I guess. They are almost freakingly alike. Just like we are." Sirius looked at him, and just laughed.  
  
  
  
"Oh, my God, you're right!" Sirius gasped out, just as the clerk came back out.  
  
  
  
The clerk raised his hand to show a light blue box and lifted the lid. Inside laid a ring just the way James had wanted it. The stones caught the light that shone through the windows and colorful lights flashed everywhere. James was caught in awe by the ring. It seemed as if it held some kind of power. Magical kind of power.  
  
  
  
As if he was reading his thoughts, the clerk said, "This ring connects the giver to the givee. It creates a magical bond between the two, and as long as one is wearing the ring, the can communicate to each other somehow. But, I think there's a catch to this ring or something. I don't know though."  
  
  
  
James looked at the ring and said, "I need it in size 4 please."  
  
  
  
The clerk nodded his head and held out the box. "That is this size sir." James nodded and asked, "How much."  
  
  
  
The clerk then smiled, he was just about to make the deal of a lifetime off of some foolish little boy who was obviously a rich foolish little boy, and very much blinded by some pampered money digger. But oh well, that wasn't his problem. "950 Galleons." (a/n: Lets just say that that equals to about 2,000 English pounds.) James nodded and pulled out a bank draft, (Lets just say that these are sort of like credit cards and are connected directly to Gringotts.) filled it out, signed it, took the ring, stuffed it in his pocket, then handed the slip over. The clerk in return smiled gratefully at him as he strolled out with a quick goodbye to Sirius.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kayla and Sirius were sitting down on a stone bench on the side of the nearly deserted cobbled street, necking. He had came back from the Jewelers in the best of moods, and quickly whisked Kayla off to be . . . kissed senseless.  
  
  
  
Sirius slid his hands down from their position in Kayla's hair, and landed on her butt. They then, of their own will - yeah, right! - shifted under her shirt, and slowly traveled up - up- ah, they reached their destination. Her breasts.  
  
  
  
Kayla gasped into the kiss, then moaned when his brilliant hands began to knead. She broke the kiss and leaned her head back. "Sirius," she gasped out as he began to nibble, lick, and suckle on her pulse point. "We're in public."  
  
  
  
All of a sudden, the beautiful, wonderful hands, stopped. And the wickedly pleasurable mouth, it also stopped.  
  
  
  
Kayla groaned. "I really need to learn how to keep my mouth shut." She muttered. She stood up - abet a little shakily, and linked her hand with Sirius' as they began to walk towards Flourish and Blotts to meet with the rest. The only thing that Kayla didn't notice, besides her own two feet and everything else around her, was her disheveled state, and the stars and moons in her eyes.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
An hour and ten minutes later after emerging from the Leaky Cauldron, James and Lily were standing outside of Flourish and Bolts, having stars in their eyes from the Quidditch store - which they had re-entered moments ago to look around again, and a little disheveled from the quick snog session they had moments ago.  
  
  
  
Sirius stopped in front of them with a wide smile on his face, and a completely wrecked looking Kayla, that left it up to no imagination just what brought that slightly dazed, starry look into her eyes.  
  
  
  
Lily grinned knowingly and stepped behind Kayla as she took her own hair out of her ponytail. She gently pulled out Kayla's hair tie, and smoothed out all the bumps on Kayla's hair and deftly pulled it all into a tight pony, then did so to herself, and stepped in front of Kayla to see if she looked better.  
  
  
  
She did a quick search; 'no make up anywhere, clothes on straight, yep, she's fine,' she said mentally.  
  
  
  
Aria and Remus came walking up to them; Both had grins on their faces, but no signs of dishevelment.  
  
  
  
Lily frowned. They had to have done something! She then narrowed her eyes. They already fixed themselves up! Lily quietly huffed out a breath, and then said, "You want to start here, or do any of you need to go pay a visit to the goblins?"  
  
  
  
"We can start here." Kayla said, finally falling from her cloud. Lily looked at the rest, and after getting nods from them all turned for the door to the shop, and had it opened for her by James. She smiled at him and walked through, and felt him at her back.  
  
  
  
Lily smiled to herself. She loved the way that he was so protective of her; it made her feel loved, and cherished. She unconsciously reached back and twined her fingers with his. "I love you," she whispered so that he could hear.  
  
  
  
James stepped closer and whispered in her ear, "And I love you, beautiful."  
  
  
  
Lily smiled as they walked up to the aging wizard situated behind the counter. "Hi Mr. Crowdy!" Lily said. The old man smiled a crooked smile at Lily and said, "Hello to you too, Miss. Evans. I hope that you are doing well at the moment."  
  
  
  
Lily smiled, knowing that he was trying to see how she was coping with her father's death.  
  
  
  
"We're all doing okay. It's hard, but we're living." She said. The old man smiled and held out a weathered hand. Lily handed him her book sheet. "I'm going to look around for other books too, so could you take care of them first," she said, indicating her friends. Mr. Crowdy smiled and did as she suggested, taking James' list next and went in search of the school books that were kept behind the counter while Lily headed towards the Myth section.  
  
  
  
By the time that the rest of her friends had gotten their books, Lily had already picked out twelve additional books. She walked back to the counter and plopped them all on the counter with a loud, BAM!, and looked around sheepishly. She really didn't mean to put them down that loud.  
  
  
  
"Sorry," she said.  
  
  
  
Mr. Crowdy smiled. "That's alright. I could never be mad at my favorite, and best customer, now could I?" Lily grinned at the man, and he proceeded to blush.  
  
  
  
"Hopefully not," Lily said.  
  
  
  
"That'll be 103 Galleons, and 4 Sickles young lady," he said after he rung her up.  
  
  
  
Lily dug in her pockets, sorted out the right amount of money, gave it to him, and accepted her package with a smile. She turned around and joined the group, only to find them looking at her weirdly. "What?" she asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.  
  
  
  
"How are you going to read all of those books?" Sirius cried in astonishment.  
  
  
  
Lily looked at them all weirdly and said, "I've always gotten at least five books before the start of school to read. What's the big deal?"  
  
  
  
Her friends and boyfriend shook their heads and muttered, "Never mind." Lily looked at them as if they had lost their minds, but said nothing else as they walked out of the store towards the Apothecary for their potion ingredients.  
  
  
  
Before anyone knew it, it was starting to get dark, and they were all expected to be getting home. They all said their goodbyes near the fireplaces, and kissed their respectful partners one last time before they screamed out their destination.  
  
  
  
And through all of the goodbyes, no one saw - nor even felt him, her, it, stare at them Wearing a black cloak, it stepped from the shadows of the Leaky Cauldron and left, casting the fireplace one more glance before disappearing into thin air, or maybe apperating.  
  
  
  
And no one heard him quietly say, "I'll get those Mages for my Master, and I'll prove my loyalty, and I'll get my payback."  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
IMPORTANT!!  
  
PLEASE READ!!  
  
A/N: Okay, I've been thinking of doing a Kayla and Sirius fanfiction so that I could explain their relationship and Kayla's past a little better since I don't know where I'd place any of that sort of stuff, at least in depth in this fanfiction, and I was wondering,  
  
What do you think?  
  
Should I do it, or shouldn't I?  
  
It'd sort of be based on this fic though, just more . . .Sirius and Kayla. And it'd go back further since I'd be centered on them and I want to get Kayla's past involved.  
  
If that made no sense, blame it on the caffeine. If you have any questions, email me at mymonkeygurl21@aol.com, and I'll answer. But PLEASE, TELL ME YOUR OPINION!!! DO I HAVE TO BEG HERE??? PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME BEG!!! PLEASE!!  
  
Thank you for Reading!  
  
  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	27. Hogwarts Express

Chapter 27 - Hogwarts Express  
  
  
  
It has been two weeks since the group had met at Diagon Alley, and they were all eager to see each other again.  
  
  
  
As usual, as soon as the train began to leave, Lily, Aria, and Kayla walked around the train to try and find a compartment for them and the boys to sit in.  
  
  
  
"Do you think that this year is going to be any different?" Aria asked after they stepped in to the first compartment of the train.  
  
  
  
"Yea. I do," Lily replied as they searched the first compartment. "I mean this is our final year, and the teachers are going to hound us like they've never hounded before. I don't know I just have this feeling that this year is going to go by really fast."  
  
  
  
Kayla nodded her agreement to what Lily said and opened the next compartment door.  
  
  
  
"Eww!" the three girls screamed at the sight before them.  
  
  
  
Inside the compartment was Snape and a sixth year Slytherin that had stringy brown hair, and brown eyes that seemed too big for her face, and was stick thin, and the two of them were in various states of undress. Snape with his shirt off, and showing a bony, and unattractive chest and pants unzipped. The girl, her name was Marissa Jennings, was straddling Snape, her shirt thrown somewhere on the ground, her bra undone, but still hanging on by the straps, and her skirt was bunched up on her thighs, and it looked as if Snape's hands were buried somewhere under them.  
  
  
  
The two people who inhabited the compartment looked up at the screams. Marissa had a look of fury on her face for the disturbance and Snape looked scared. After all, his 'love', Lily, had seen him dallying with another lady.  
  
  
  
"Lily! This is not what it looks like!" Snape yelled as he tried to get Marissa off of him. But she would have none of it, and latched herself onto him. Snape glared at her, then looked at Lily, whose mouth was hanging open, and her eyes wide as saucers.  
  
  
  
'Oh, my God. Snape . . . Sex! Oh, my God. No way can he . . . no!' she thought frantically.  
  
  
  
"Lils? What's wron-" James cut off as he stood behind his girlfriend. He took one glance at Snape and howled with uncontrollable laughter. Sirius and Remus, having peaked over James's shoulders, soon joined him.  
  
  
  
Lily shook her head, trying to gather the wits that had suddenly flew out of her brain, and grabbed the door handle from Kayla's grasp and slammed the door shut. The other two girls blinked owlishly and finally came to.  
  
  
  
"That compartment over there is empty, come on," Aria said as she waved to a compartment three doors down.  
  
  
  
The girls followed her, leaving the boys in a giggling heap on the floor in front of Snape's compartment.  
  
  
  
"Hey!" James gasped out as he tried to stand back up, clutching his sides.  
  
  
  
After five tries, James was finally able to stand, and helped his buddies up. All three had just gotten steady when -  
  
  
  
"Oh! Severus! Yes! Yes!" came from the compartment.  
  
  
  
They couldn't help it. They fell right back down onto the floor with laughter, drowning out the moans of the couple.  
  
  
  
The three guys managed to crawl towards the door that the girls had disappeared through, and hauled themselves up into the seats that were left open next to their girlfriends - still laughing.  
  
  
  
Lily, Kayla, and Aria looked at each other, then their boyfriends, and shrugged. "You know, it wasn't that funny," Lily told them with a shudder. "That was actually more sick than the time in the Astronomy tower."  
  
  
  
That shut James up as he remembered what had happened that night with a smile. Then he remembered Snape and laughed again.  
  
  
  
"You . . .Should have . . . heard them!" Remus gasped out in between his laughter.  
  
  
  
"Oh, Snape! Yes, yes, yes!" Sirius mocked, which caused the boys to double over, and laugh harder.  
  
  
  
The three girls scrunched their noses' in disgust and just continued talking over the howling.  
  
  
  
It took most of the train trip to get the guys to actually shut up. They even missed the food cart! And that was a first. Even the cart lady was shocked speechless!  
  
  
  
By the time the train stopped and the six of them were in their uniforms, the boys were back to normal - or as normal as they were to begin with. And as long as they didn't look at Snape, they were fine.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Here you go!  
  
Okay, some of you have already found it, but I have already posted the first two chapters of the Kayla and Sirius story. Here is the link:  
  
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1088829 and if that doesn't work, the name of the story is Spellbound. Hope you all like it!  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	28. The Biggest Prank

Chapter 28 - The Biggest Prank  
  
  
  
The six friends walked cheerfully into the Great Hall, the girls arms linked together, and their boyfriends walking directly behind them.  
  
  
  
Lily was ecstatic to be back. She hadn't realized how much she had missed this place. The group stood to the side, to allow the other students to come in and take their seats, and discussed the final touches on their prank.  
  
  
  
"This is our last year to be able to do this, it has to be . . . the most brilliant-" Sirius started, only to be finished by James.  
  
  
  
"-the biggest prank that we have ever done!" he said grinning and looking at Sirius, who had this dreamy smile on, and dancing eyes.  
  
  
  
"I think to finish our prank that we should inform the rest of the school just what Mr. Snape has been up to in the past seven hours, don't you?" Sirius smirked. The girls grinned. After a while they had finally gotten over the shock and found the humor in the situation. And that particular run in was too much to keep inside.  
  
  
  
"I can do a projection charm that replays a particular moment in time, and I can also do the charm for the first part of our prank. Seeing as I'm the only one who's actually good at charms . . . and not just pranking charms," Lily informed them.  
  
  
  
James nodded. "Yea, it's best if you take care of that. I'll take the picture part. Sirius, you can do the walls, Remus, you can do the clothes, Aria, you can do frames, and Kayla you can do the pit," He instructed. "Okay, everybody know what to do?"  
  
  
  
When everybody nodded, James leaned towards Lily, gave her a peck on the cheek, and said, "Well then, lets give this school a prank that they will never forget!"  
  
  
  
Sirius and Remus followed James' example and gave their girlfriends a chaste kiss on the cheek, and walked away with grins on their faces.  
  
  
  
The girls stood where they were for a few seconds then grinned at each other. "This is going to be so fun!" Aria gushed as they walked towards their seats at the Ravenclaw table, with mischief dancing wildly in their eyes.  
  
  
  
"I hope the sorting doesn't take long this year," Kayla complained as she saw Professor McGonagall lead an army - or so it seemed for them, being as eager as they were - of new students into the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
After the Sorting Hat sung its song, Professor McGonagall called "Amity, Clair" up in her strong, clear, teaching voice. After 12 Gryffindors were sorted, 18 Hufflepuffs, 10 Ravenclaws, and 5 Slytherins, Professor Dumbledore stood up to make his usual speech.  
  
  
  
"It is the beginning of a new school year, time to fill your minds so that you may go home in nine months to empty them once again. So, welcome to Hogwarts for those of you who are new, and welcome back to the returning students. Now, for the rules; The Forbidden Forest is restricted to those of you who wish to live another day. Mr. Filch would like me to remind you that dallying with your partners around the hallways after curfew is strictly - how did he put it? - Oh - 'nauseating', and if he has to break you up he shall be happy to reduce your house points. Now, himmedybimmedywho!" he finished with a wave of his hands, and food instantly appeared, scaring the muggle born first years out of their minds.  
  
  
  
Lily looked over the sea of heads, and met her boyfriends' gaze. He nodded his head, telling her that it was time to start. Lily nodded back, then looked at her friends. "Ready?" she asked as she turned her attention towards the Slytherin table.  
  
  
  
"Yep!" came from Aria.  
  
  
  
"Hell yea!" Kayla cried.  
  
  
  
Lily chuckled. "Okay, I'm going to go first, then as soon as I'm done, Kayla I want you to give James the signal to go, okay?" she asked.  
  
  
  
"Yes, sir - ma'am! Whatever!" Kayla replied.  
  
  
  
Lily looked over at the Slytherin table, took out her wand, and checked to make sure that the teachers weren't looking. She then pointed her wand at the sky above the Slytherins, and started to swish and flick and twirl her wand, saying, "Perlucidulus Praestigiae." (A/N: This spell gives off an illusion of nothing happening except for those who the caster - Lily - whishes to see.)  
  
  
  
Kayla, guessing that she was finished, yelled loud enough for James to hear, "Lily!" in a whining voice.  
  
  
  
Lily, playing along whined out in a softer voice, "What!"  
  
  
  
James, upon hearing the whine - which was his sign to start his part of the prank - grinned. He picked out half of the Slytherins - Malfoy, Avery, Jennings, Kerbei, Poxton, Niwers, the Quidditch team, and the four prefects - and made them become one dimensional, to where they looked like moving, life like pictures. He then looked over at Remus and nodded his head at him.  
  
  
  
Remus, who was sitting next to James, facing the Slytherin table, looked at the flat Slytherins and changed their clothes. He then looked over at Aria to find her staring at him. He winked at her, and was delighted to see a flush grace her cheeks.  
  
  
  
Aria had been looking at Remus the whole time, so when she received her wink, which made her blush, she discreetly turned her head and looked at the Slytherins, and tried not to burst out laughing. She took a deep breath to steady herself and conjured frames for the "Picture Prefect Slytherins" as they were calling it, and pasted them onto the canvases.  
  
  
  
Aria looked back at Remus and stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
  
  
Remus in return kicked Sirius on the shins from under the table.  
  
  
  
Sirius swallowed his mouth full of mashed potatoes and looked over his shoulder. Having his wand up his sleeve, he waved his hands as if he was dismissing something and muttered "Adhaereo", and the portraits flew back onto the bare walls and placed themselves there. He then threw his hands up in the air as if in defeat, and went back to greedily eating his dinner.  
  
  
  
Kayla, having seen Sirius throw his hands up in the air from the corner of her eyes, switched her attention towards the Slytherin table. Kayla made it to where the Slytherins thought that if they were to escape the pictures they would fall into a pit of fire. She looked at Lily and said, "Your turn."  
  
  
  
Lily grinned and searched for Snape. Seeing him seated at the table rather than on a canvas, she raised her brows and made a mental note to ask James about that later. She thought of what she saw, pointed her wand at the greasy haired Slytherin and whispered the spell under her breath. All of a sudden, a crystal clear view of Snape running his hands down the lacking body of Marissa Jennings was formed in a big bubble around his head. Lily then turned back to her food, and stuffing her wand into the arm of her robe, waved her hand in their direction and said, "Dispelus" and went back to eating.  
  
  
  
Moments after, screams from the Slytherin table, cries of outrage, and terror alike were heard. The six friends looked towards the Slytherin table and howled with laughter.  
  
  
  
The "Picture Prefect Slytherins" were banging against the canvases, trying to get out, shouting at the top of their lungs to set them free, but most people were concentrated on the image of Snape having sex with Marissa Jennings. After seeing this, many pushed their plates away, too disgusted to eat anymore. James, Sirius, and Remus were not one of those people.  
  
  
  
"Black, Cameron, Evans, Lupin, Potter, Williams! To my office, NOW!" Professor McGonagall yelled her face red with anger.  
  
  
  
Professor Dumbledore on the other hand chuckled, and with a wave of his hand, everything was how it was supposed to be again.  
  
  
  
The six friends looked at each other, scared. They had never seen Professor McGonagall this mad before. They all got up and followed her out of the Great Hall to receive their punishment. 


	29. The Punishment

Chapter 29 - The Punishments  
  
"I think we did it this time," Lily whispered to Kayla as they walked behind a fuming McGonagall towards the Headmaster's office. Kayla looked at Lily and nodded her head vigorously. They had never seen Professor McGonagall this mad at them before.  
  
"Inexcusable!" Professor yelled, then proceeded to mutter her opinions to herself.  
  
Lily looked at Kayla, who looked at her, and both were visibly trying not to laugh at the ticked off teacher. Being the two directly behind McGonagall, if they strained their ears, they could hear what she was saying about them. But on silent, mutual agreement, they decided to leave the vile words that McGonagall was muttering to be left unheard by them. It was most likely best not to hear what was being said anyways.  
  
James, Remus, Sirius, Aria, Kayla, and Lily silently followed Professor McGonagall through many corridors, up many steps, to finally stop in front of a statue of a gargoyle.  
  
"Lemon Drop Lollipop," Professor McGonagall told the statue.  
  
The gargoyle made a hideous grinding noise that made the six students shudder as it revealed a long twirling set of stairs that led to Headmaster Dumbledore's office.  
  
Filing up the stairs in pairs, the group made their way up to his office.  
  
"This has changed," Lily whispered to Remus, who had stopped next to her.  
  
And indeed it had. The room used to be dark oak wood with silver lining on everything, colorless was always Lily's opinion. It now had dark, gleaming mahogany wood everywhere, plush deep maroon and gold carpet, and eight wide cushioned chairs were scattered around. The chairs had dark teal cushions, and armrests that were like everything else that had wood on it, a startling mahogany. The bookcases were lined with books, funny looking frog knickknacks, and shinny silver pots filled with silver liquid. Upon a closer look, Lily placed them to be Pensieves. There were small cabinets in between the past Headmasters of the school, filled with God knows what, and on a perch behind the door stood Fawkes, Professor Dumbledore's pet Phoenix.  
  
"Yes, it has. Dumbledore had started remodeling towards the end of last year when he overheard Kayla repeat what you always seemed to say when we were waiting for him after our prank on that stupid cat," Remus replied and snapped Lily's attention from studying the room.  
  
"At least I can no longer say it is boring and dull," Lily said.  
  
"Why thank you, Miss Evans," came the kind, and to Lily's embarrassment, amused voice of Professor Dumbledore.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore. I'm sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect what so ever," Lily gushed, trying to hide her embarrassment as best as she could.  
  
Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "None taken. Now, I believe that you six are here to receive your punishments. Professor McGonagall, that will be all," he said as he sat behind his desk.  
  
Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore. "Very well, Albus."  
  
As soon as the door shut, Dumbledore let his amusement show. "Now, no matter how funny a prank may be, you must receive the punishment, so lets see," he mused as he thought of something for the six students in front of him. "You six are to take care of the Quidditch preparations next week."  
  
"Now," he said merrily, with a clap of his hands, "How in Merlin's name did you pull that prank off? I suppose that one of you," an amused glance at Lily told them just whom he was talking of, "did some kind of Mage magic to pull some of that off."  
  
Lily flushed and nodded her head. "Yes, sir, I did."  
  
Dumbledore nodded his head, and his eyes were bright with amusement. "Yes, but how did you do it?" Dumbledore pushed.  
  
"Well you see . . ." Sirius started.  
  
The spent the next twenty minutes explaining to the Headmaster all that went behind the prank, then everyone except Lily was dismissed.  
  
"We'll wait for you outside," Kayla said as she walked out of the office.  
  
"Miss Evans, I know this is your first day back in close to a year, but I need to ask you something of some great importance," Dumbledore told her gravely. "Have you heard about a wizard named Lord Voldemort?"  
  
Lily furrowed her brows in concentration, trying to remember where she had heard that name before.  
  
"Oh, yes!" she replied. "He was one of the idiots that my father was trying to capture for the Ministry." (A/N: I sort of changed stuff around, and Lily's father is a wizard, so she is half and half. Just thought I'd let you guys know that.)  
  
Dumbledore nodded his head. "Yes, he was. We are lead to believe that he is gaining supporters, and is getting stronger day by day. We think that he might try to get you and the rest. You, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black, Mr. Lupin, Miss Cameron and Miss Williams for your . . . unique powers. I'm telling you all of this because your powers are more . . . intermediate than the others. He will be coming for you most likely harsher than he would the others. I wish for you to warn the others, and maybe help them train better."  
  
Lily took a deep breath and nodded her head.  
  
"Good, I'll give you the details of your detentions sometime before the Quidditch preparations. And I hope to see you captaining the Ravenclaw team again?" Dumbledore asked with a white, raised eyebrow.  
  
Lily smiled and nodded her head. "I'll be taking my position once again." With that, she walked towards the door.  
  
'Now all I have to do is find a way to tell the others that they might be in danger. Great,' she thought as she descended the stairs. 


	30. The Warning

Chapter 30 - The Warning  
  
  
  
Lily was laying on her bed trying to figure out how to tell them what was going on, but so far all she had was, "oh, and by the way, we all have an evil wizard out to kill us because we have special powers."  
  
  
  
Lily sighed in frustration and flipped over onto her stomach and stared at her bed's headboard. 'Maybe I can just tell them straight out,' she thought. 'But what if one of them freaks out, what are you going to do then?' Lily sighed again. 'All of this thinking is giving me a headache.' She flipped back onto her back. Just then, her hangings were pushed back and Kayla and Aria climbed onto her bed and sat down on either side of her.  
  
  
  
"What's up?" Kayla asked as she crossed her legs and stared at her best friend.  
  
  
  
Lily sighed again. 'Might as well start here,' she thought as she scooted up on the bed until her back rested against her pillows.  
  
  
  
"Well you see, Professor Dumbledore told me something that also affects you guys, but I don't know how to tell you what I'm supposed to tell you." Aria and Kayla looked at Lily with frowns gracing their faces.  
  
  
  
"Just tell us," Kayla demanded.  
  
  
  
"Okay." Lily took a deep breath and retold everything that Dumbledore had told her about the threat with Voldemort, and the training.  
  
  
  
"You were worked up over telling us something like that!" Kayla yelled with disbelief. "Jesus Christ. I thought that someone had died or something, only to find out that we are being watched or whatever by some moron who thinks that he can rule the world by killing people!"  
  
  
  
Lily looked at her friend with a sheepish expression. "Oops. Sorry. I didn't mean for you to worry," she responded to them with a soft voice.  
  
  
  
Aria sighed and shook her head. "Of course we'll worry when the Headmaster requests to see only you, then you come out and don't even notice us!" she scolded.  
  
  
  
Lily sighed once again and looked at her friends. "I guess I better find the boys then and tell them what's going on," she groaned out as she swung her legs over to the edge of her bed and stood up. "You willing to come with me?" She looked over her shoulder at her friends while she slipped on her shoes.  
  
  
  
Kayla and Aria shrugged their shoulders and got up.  
  
  
  
"You know, I just realized something," Lily confided to them as they walked out of the Ravenclaw common room.  
  
  
  
"That you are secretly in love with me, Severus Snape?" a voice drawled from behind the girls.  
  
  
  
Lily whirled around and glared at Snape. "In your dreams you slimy perverted git!" Lily snapped angrily at him.  
  
  
  
Snape shrunk under her glare and said in a little voice, "But Lily darling, we are meant to be together. You love me, you said so yourself, and I love you."  
  
  
  
Lily, still glaring daggers at him, growled in a low, dangerous voice, "I have never said any such thing to you!"  
  
  
  
Snape smirked and haughtily replied, "You have indeed shown that you love me. I mean, you did after all decide to date my archenemy to get me to notice you, which you need not have done, as I have always noticed you. That alone is a declaration of love if I do say so myself."  
  
  
  
"Snape, I wouldn't touch you if you were the last male on Earth. What makes you think that I'd stoop as low as to try to get your attention? I don't even want it in the first place, so leave me alone!" she snarled at him before she stomped off in the opposite direction, towards the Gryffindor common room.  
  
  
  
Kayla and Aria looked at each other, amusement dancing in their eyes. Malfoy might be the one who got to Kayla the easiest, but when it came to Lily, no one could push her buttons like Snape. And no matter how hard she tried, Lily always ended up yelling at him every time they crossed paths. It was rather amusing, watching her fight with him. At least it was in Kayla and Aria's mind.  
  
  
  
"Lils, do you even know the password for the Gryffindor Tower?" Aria asked inquiringly as they stopped in front of a fat lady in a pink fluffy dress.  
  
  
  
"Candle snitchs," Lily told the picture with a strained voice, and it creaked open to reveal a red and gold common room.  
  
  
  
The girls walked in to the common room, and searched for the boys. "You guys aren't allowed in here," a first year Gryffindor girl informed them with a superior tone while she was attempting to glare down her nose at the three taller girls.  
  
  
  
"You'll get used to seeing us here. We are looking for three guys, can you help us?" Kayla requested of the little girl.  
  
  
  
"You are not allowed in the Gryffindor common room. You are not Gryffindors," the girl replied once more.  
  
  
  
Lily drew in a deep breath and, beginning to get irritated by people in general, looked around for someone who could help them. "Oy! Brent!" she called out to a sixth year Gryffindor.  
  
  
  
Brent McMain looked over his shoulder to see who had called him and smiled and waved at Lily.  
  
  
  
Lily took three deep breaths to settle the temper that she knew was quickly going from simmer to boil. "Could you help us, Brent?" she asked in a tight voice, a warning to Kayla and Aria of her repressed anger.  
  
  
  
Brent looked at her and wonderingly asked, "Sure, what with?"  
  
  
  
Lily pointed to the four-foot-something girl in front of her and asked as politely as she could, "Will you please explain to her that we are forever coming into here, and are welcome so that we can look for those three idiots that we hang out with?"  
  
  
  
Brent smiled and looked at the first year that stood defiantly in front of the two of the most temperamental girls in Hogwarts. "You're name is Rachel, isn't it?" he asked of the first year.  
  
  
  
"Yes, it is." She gladly replied.  
  
"These three girls right here," he advised her, pointing to Lily, Kayla and Aria, "are in here more times than not, and they have always been welcome in here. Don't ask why, but they are. So, if you see them in here again, don't try to kick them out okay?"  
  
  
  
The little girl mumbled a sorry to the girls and ran to sit with her friends.  
  
  
  
"Oh, and the boys are up in their room. You know where it is," Brent told them as he walked back to where he was sitting.  
  
  
  
"Thank you!" Lily yelled as they began to climb the steps leading to the seventh year boy's dorm room. Aria knocked, and Lily opened the door, not even waiting for an answer.  
  
  
  
They hadn't even been back a full day and already clothes were thrown all over the red and gold room. Their red and gold sheets were messed up, and they had candy wrappers littering the ground.  
  
  
  
"Lily!" James cried with excitement, regardless that they had parted little over two hours ago.  
  
  
  
"Aria!" Remus said, stunned, not expecting to see his shy girlfriend enter the boys' dorm at ten o'clock at night.  
  
  
  
"Kayla!" Sirius screamed over-excitedly.  
  
  
  
"Oh, no," Peter muttered, disgusted, as he heard his friends. And they were having such a good time talking about all of the girls that they had laid before they came along.  
  
  
  
"We need to talk with you guys," Lily said as she hugged James and sat on his bed cross-legged. "Peter, could you go?" she requested, knowing that he would go anyways.  
  
  
  
Peter grumbled, but got up anyways and walked out of the door.  
  
  
  
"What?" Sirius questioned as he leaned against the headboard on his bed with Kayla leaning on him.  
  
  
  
"Well-" she said, then continued to inform them of everything else.  
  
  
  
"Let me get this straight," James thought out loud as he paced the floor next to his bed. "Voldemort is after us because he wants our powers, and now we have to train to become stronger so that WE can defeat him?" he asked Lily uncertainly. Lily nodded her head.  
  
  
  
James sighed and fell back on his bed with his arms spread. "At least I get what you're talking about," he muttered.  
  
  
  
"When do we start our training?" Remus asked Lily as he drew Aria closer to him.  
  
  
  
Lily shook her head. "I don't know. I don't even know how we're going to do so without anyone knowing. I think Dumbledore is trying to figure something out."  
  
  
  
Everyone became silent.  
  
  
  
"What now?" Sirius wondered.  
  
  
  
"We get ready to train," Lily explained to them. "Start working up your system so that you are able to withstand more, practice more, outlast longer."  
  
Five sets of groans were heard. It was common knowledge that she meant running and exercise.  
  
  
  
"Lily, shut up while you're ahead. We know how you like to run, but the rest of us despise it!" Kayla groaned as she half-heartedly threw one of Sirius' pillows at her. It landed on James' face instead. "Oops," Kayla coyly whispered an instant before the pillow was thrown back at her. Kayla hid behind Sirius so that it would hit him instead.  
  
  
  
"That's it!" Sirius called out as he was beaned with the pillow. "All out PILLOW WAR!!"  
  
  
  
And the supposedly mature seventh years had them selves a pillow war. That was, until the perfects decided to break it up and banish the pillows away, anyway.  
  
  
  
"Hey! I was using that!" Sirius yelled at the retreating fifth year perfect who had banished his pillow in mid-swing and made him lose his balance and fall on top of Kayla.  
  
  
  
A loud "Oomph" was heard before Sirius was pushed off of her and on to the hard wooden floor, laughter resounding from the rest of his friends, and thoughts of danger far from their minds. 


	31. The Training Room

Chapter 31 - The Training Room  
  
  
  
  
  
They were three weeks into the school year by now, and everybody was settling into a comfortable routine for their days.  
  
  
  
The six trouble makers had already served their detentions, which was agonizing enough, but Lily was also making them run every morning before the sun was even up! They still didn't know when they could actually do more, so for know they were stuck with the torture of Lily Evans every morning at 4: 30.  
  
  
  
As Kayla sat at the Ravenclaw table for breakfast, leaning against her boyfriends shoulder for support and yawning hugely, she saw Lily tense up and look at Professor Dumbledore. Kayla straightened and looked on interestedly. 'What is all this about?' she wondered as Lily signaled her response to something.  
  
  
  
Lily nudged James' side with her elbow to get his attention. When he looked at her with a sleepy stare, her breath hitched with desire. She loved it when his eyes held that lost, tired look in them. She took one deep breath and willed herself not to melt just because of a look. "I have to go and talk to Dumbledore about something, I might be late for Charms." She informed him.  
  
  
  
James sleepily bobbed his head - Lily took that as agreement -, gave her a chaste peck on her cheek, and put his head back on the table top in hopes that he'd be able to get some sleep.  
  
  
  
Lily got up and looked into Professor Dumbledore's eyes as he stood up and led the way out of the Great Hall, and took the all familiar path to his Office.  
  
  
  
Professor Dumbledore halted outside of the hideous gargoyle and once the statue moved again, he walked up the twirling stairs and led Lily into his office.  
  
  
  
"Lemon Drop?" he asked Lily as he settled down behind the big desk. Lily shook her head politely as she slumped into the chair facing Professor Dumbledore. "Professor, how are we going to do this without no-one else knowing?" Lily asked bluntly.  
  
  
  
Professor Dumbledore's eyes shone with amusement as he announced, "I have always admired the way that you always get straight to the point, Miss. Evans." Lily flushed in embarrassment and lowered her eyes to stare at the carpet. Professor Dumbledore chuckled good-naturedly.  
  
  
  
"Right Miss Evans, back to your question. I believe that there is a new Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts Class starting tomorrow. It is only for seventh years, and they had to have been at the top of their classes all six years of their time here. Do you know how many students there are who fit the requirements?" he finished, reflecting the last part out loud, wonderingly. "I don't know, Professor." Lily replied, thinking that he asked her the question. Professor Dumbledore shook his head and returned his attention back to Lily.  
  
  
  
"There are six. And it just so happens that those six are yourself, Mr.'s Potter, Black, Lupin, and Misses Cameron and Williams. And I think that it'd be a prefect cover-up story if it were needed. From now on, you will teach them all you know about Defense Magic during Defense Against the Dark Arts class." He explained. "You shall not however, be going to your regular Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. It will be said that you are doing an extra program to make up for this class, is that alright with you?" he added.  
  
  
  
Lily nodded her head in agreement. It was a brilliant plan, and she knew that her friends would be delighted to get out of that class, especially the boys who had DADA with the Slytherins. "But sir," she started as she realized something. "We have DADA different periods! How is that going to work?"  
  
  
  
"Well," Professor Dumbledore mused as he tapped his fingers on his desk. "I believe that you girls have Care of Magical Creatures at the time that the boys have DADA, am I correct?"  
  
  
  
Lily inclined her head as an answer.  
  
  
  
"Well, I believe that you three know your animals well enough, don't you?" he smiled at Lily. Lily flushed and wondered for the millionth time since coming to Hogwarts if Professor Dumbledore somehow could be everywhere at once. "Yes, sir, we do." Lily informed him in a meek voice. Professor Dumbledore nodded his head and said, "Well, there is your solution." Lily was looking a little confused, but she went along with what he was saying anyways, scared that he might confuse her more than she already was.  
  
  
  
"So, where is this place that we are supposed to be training in?" she questioned of the elder wizard.  
  
  
  
Professor Dumbledore smiled and looked at Lily with an excited glint in his eye. "I have constructed a room fit for these purposes recently. They are out in the forest though," he explained. "And you'll have to be careful, but this room is secluded from everyone else, and there is a room incase any of you have to do any extra training and fall asleep. But this room holds everything that you'll need to teach your friends. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll show you where this room is?" he asked her.  
  
  
  
Lily got up out of her chair and followed Professor Dumbledore out of his office, down the corridors, outside of the castle grounds, past Hadrig's hut, and into the forbidden forest.  
  
  
  
Most students would shrink back in fear at the sight of some of the hideous monsters that were watching their every move, but all Lily did was glare at the glowing eyes that penetrated into her skin from the depths of the forest, as if saying 'try to kill me and I'll hex you.'  
  
  
  
Professor Dumbledore led Lily to a gigantic rock that was situated in the middle of a clearing, climbed up the sides until he was standing on the top of it. Lily followed and looked at what Professor Dumbledore was standing on.  
  
  
  
He was standing on a round disk that couldn't have been bigger than three feet in diameter, and was split into three different sections, one section you could see a picture of a rising sea, the next you could see what appeared to be a flaming fire, and the last was a picture of flowers and trees swaying, giving it the appearance of wind blowing across it.  
  
  
  
While Lily was looking at the platform, Professor Dumbledore had muttered an incantation that made the stone able to recognize Lily. And Lily, being so into her study of the slab of rock, didn't realize that they had gone into the rock until she felt herself being jolted into Professor Dumbledore, who caught her and righted her back onto her feet.  
  
  
  
Lily looked around the room and gasped. As she started to move around, she realized that it was a large room, bigger than the Great Hall itself! You could probably fit two of them in there perfectly! It was done in all white to give the room more natural light, which came in from the enchanted ceiling, there were floor to floor mirrors through half of the room, and the same half of the rooms floor was padded. Most likely for the martial arts she had to teach them - she only hoped that they were able to learn this particular art fast. There was what looked like magical absorbent wall on the other side of the room, which would absorb any spell that was shot at it, and throw it back at you, making it essential for when you were training by yourself, and there were many more devices that Lily would use with her friends before the end of the school year came. Lily became excited at the thought. She loved doing this sort of stuff!  
  
  
  
With programs running through her mind already, Lily turned to Professor Dumbledore and told him, "This room will do perfectly Professor. It has everything that we'll need." Professor Dumbledore smiled at her and stirred her back towards the platform.  
  
  
  
"Before we go back up, I'm going to explain this to you. I have already recited the incantation that will allow you to be recognized by the stone platform, but you have to say it for the others. The words are, 'siamo gla elementi tre.'" He informed her.  
  
  
  
Lily raised her eyebrows at the Italian but didn't say anything. Although she was wondering why they weren't in Latin like everything else. "Right." She said as they began the ride up. "But will anybody else be able to enter?" she asked him as they began the track back to the castle.  
  
  
  
Lily looked at Professor Dumbledore just in time to see him shake his head and open his mouth. "No. Only the heirs of the elements (A/N: Cliché, I know.) are able to get into that room. After this, I will no longer be able to either." He informed her as they arrived at the edge of the forest.  
  
  
  
"So you mean that if we needed to hide out from Voldemort that we could use this place? That he couldn't get into it?" she questioned. Professor Dumbledore stopped and looked Lily straight in her eyes. "Yes." He replied with a flat tone. "But I fear that if you six we're in trouble, it'd be best all around for all of you to fight him."  
  
  
  
Lily nodded her head in agreement. She already knew that she and her friends would not sit out on the sidelines if something was to happen, but just in case things got out of hand, she wanted to make sure.  
  
  
  
"Now I do believe that you have a Charms class that you must be getting to, am I correct?" Professor Dumbledore asked as they entered the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
Lily gasped. She was missing her favorite class! "Right!" she yelped. "Bye Professor!" she yelled over her shoulder as she ran to class, showing up with only 29 minutes of class left.  
  
  
  
"Miss Evans?" the little elfish creature squeaked in astonishment. Lily was never late for Charms! "Sorry Professor, but I was talking with Professor Dumbledore about something. I'm sorry for interrupting." She explained hurriedly. "Just take your seat, Miss Evans." The teacher instructed.  
  
  
  
Lily took her seat in between James and Kayla and gave them looks that said 'I'll tell you later.'  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Later that night, Sirius, James, and Remus could all be found lounging on their girlfriend's beds, with their girlfriends snuggled up in their arms.  
  
  
  
Lily was sitting in James' lap, telling everybody about what Professor Dumbledore had shown her and told her earlier that morning.  
  
  
  
"The weird thing is," Lily commented without thinking as she ended her story. "I've never seen that rock before, and we've seen every part of that forest while in our animal for-" Lily cut herself off as she realized who was in the room. Lily grimaced. "Oops."  
  
  
  
James grinned. "That's alright Lily. We already know thanks to that spell that we did in charms last year."  
  
  
  
Lily's mouth was formed in an 'o', and she shrugged. "Well then," she started. "I can go ahead and say what I was going to. I have never seen that rock there, or anywhere in that forest, and we've been everywhere inside of it."  
  
  
  
Kayla looked at her friend in shock. 'Something that we haven't found before! Finally!' her mind screamed. "Are you sure that you've never seen it before?" she asked eagerly. Lily in turn narrowed her eyes at Kayla in a way that said, 'What are you trying to say, I don't remember anything?' Kayla shrugged nonchalancily and rested against Sirius' arm again.  
  
  
  
"What kind of things are you going to have us doing tomorrow?" Aria asked, her interest evident in her voice.  
  
  
  
Lily smiled and looked over towards her. "I'm going to start teaching you the basics of martial arts."  
  
  
  
Aria's jaw dropped. 'Uh-oh.' was all that went through her mind. "Uh, Lily, don't you think that that is a little . . . uh, I don't know, dangerous!" she asked.  
  
  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. "Aradriana, it's for your own good that you learn how to do this, got it." Lily told her in a firm voice. Aria sulkily nodded. "Good." Lily said triumphantly.  
  
  
  
"You really like wining arguments, don't you, love?" James whispered across her ear.  
  
  
  
Lily fought the urge to shiver as she watched her friends disappear behind their bed hangings. Lily reached down into her robes and pulled out her wand. With a flick of her wrist, she had shut the hangings around her bed, and put up a silencing spell. "There." She gasped out as James's fingers danced up her thighs.  
  
  
  
A husky chuckle sounded from above her ear, and Lily turned her head to look at James. "Why is that so funny?" she demanded with a soft voice.  
  
  
  
James shrugged. "Because it is."  
  
  
  
Lily turned to straddle his out stretched legs and kissed his lips, pulling back when he opened his mouth. Lily grinned as she bent her head again and nibbled on his lower lip until her heard a groan come from him. She then complied his silent pleading and slipped her tongue into his mouth. A shot of fire ran through her body as his tongue automatically sought hers out.  
  
  
  
James began sucking and entangling his own with Lily's tongue. One of them let out a moan as Lily drew back for air.  
  
  
  
"Lily?" James questioned as his hands stroked her lower back, then continued down to cup her butt.  
  
  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
  
  
"Can I ask you something, and have you promise that you won't say anything until I finish what I want to say?" he asked her as he trailed his hands up her back again.  
  
  
  
"Um-hm."  
  
  
  
James took a deep breath then slowly, not wanting to repeat himself, started, "I planned on doing this differently, I don't know, I guess less spontaneously, but I find that I don't want to do it any other time. Lily, I love you. I think that I always have loved you, and I want to always love you. Last year you made me promise you something, do you remember it?"  
  
  
  
Lily lifted her head from his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Yes, I asked you to be here for me when I returned." She whispered, scared as to where this might be going. 'Please don't let him break up with me, please. I don't think that I could handle that.' Her head pleaded.  
  
  
  
"Exactly. Well, you don't know this, but that night I made a promise to myself. I promised that I would be waiting here for you, and that I'd be waiting with a ring with the hope that you'd say that you'll be mine." He whispered the last. James heard Lily gasp and looked deep into her eyes, and took down every barrier that might have been up, and bared his soul to Lily.  
  
  
  
"Lily, I don't think that I'll ever be able to go on without you, I get scared when I don't know where you are, and I get twitchy when you're not around me, and when you don't talk to me I feel as if my world has come to an end. Lily, I can't live without you, and I've come to find out, that I don't want to. I want you by my side, now and always. So I guess what I'm asking you Lillian Maria-Teresa Evans is, will you be mine? Will you promise to be mine forever more, will you allow me to call you mine forever more? Will you marry me?" he whispered softly enough so that only Lily could hear, even though no one could hear them in the first place due to the spell.  
  
  
  
Lily gasped out "James!" through her tears as she rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay, this chapter has a lot of errors on it because I have not gotten the corrected version back from my beta, and I wanted to get this out to you guys. The next chapter is waiting to be corrected also, and if I don't get my corrected chapter back within three days I'm going to post it incorrect also.  
  
These chapters will be replaced with the corrected chapters as soon as I get them.  
  
Happy Reading.  
  
Mistress dell Mare 


	32. The Answer to a Question

A/N: Okay, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!  
  
  
  
Chapter 32 - The Answer to A Question  
  
  
  
  
  
James patted and stroked Lily's back, trying to calm her. "Is that a yes, or a no?" James asked hesitantly.  
  
  
  
Lily looked up from his shoulder, and tears were streaming down her face. James's breath caught at the expression in Lily's eyes. It wasn't happiness - it was sorrow. 'She doesn't want to marry me.' His mind thought as his heart clenched violently. James tried to lift Lily off of his lap so that he could get off her bed, but she clenched her thighs around his, making him stay. "Lily," he cried softly. "Please, let me up. I already know your answer, and I don't think that I can handle hearing it."  
  
  
  
Lily shook her head and tightened her grip on him. "No James, I want you to hear the reason for my answer." She whispered, her voice shaking from crying still. Lily swiped a trembling hand across her cheeks, trying to get rid of the tears, but she couldn't stop them from falling. "James, I love you, and I always will, but I just can't marry you, not right now." She started to explain. "I don't feel as if I can handle another emotional roller coaster yet. And I know that if I was to say yes at the moment, that that is exactly what would happen." James closed his eyes in despair. "James, love?" Lily softly asked. "Look at me please?"  
  
  
  
James shook his head and kept his eyes shut tight. He felt Lily's soft, delicate hand brush his cheek and he realized that his tears had spilled and she was wiping them away. James' grip on her waist tightened. "God I love you Lily. But, I-I think that you- you don't l-love me as I l-love you." He whispered as he buried his head in her hair that held the scent of the ocean.  
  
  
  
"James, please!" Lily begged as he lifted her off of him and laid her gently down on her bed. Lily sprung back up and crawled to the side of the bed on her knees. She made a dive for the back of James' robes, but he was already moving towards the door. "James, please, don't leave me. Don't leave me alone." She whispered desperately. "I don't think that I can go on without you too." She cried, her body heaving from her sobs.  
  
  
  
James came back from where he opened the door and crouched down in front of Lily. "Lily, love," he said with a soft voice. "I will never leave you, I'll always be here for you when you need me, but it already hurts too much to know that you don't love me as much as I love you. That you don't love me enough to marry me. I-I'm not as strong as people think." He finished with a barely audible whisper.  
  
  
  
"How can you say that I don't love you enough to marry you?" Lily screamed, unmindful of the people in the dorms, or who heard her. Lily jumped up from the floor. "How can you say that to me? How James?" she demanded in a fierce whisper.  
  
  
  
"Lily?" Kayla softly called out as she, Sirius, Aria and Remus appeared from behind the hangings. Lily ignored her, and everyone else in the room.  
  
  
  
"Then why won't you say yes?" James yelled back, he too ignoring their friends.  
  
  
  
"I didn't say yes because I'm scared James! I'm scared to get hurt even more than I already am! Everyone thinks that I'm perfectly fine after all that has happened, but I'm not! No one has seen it, no one has heard it, but I'm still weeping inside. And somehow, I know that if you and I were to get engaged now, something would happen James, something always happens. Do you even know that when we broke up last time that that was a planned attack?" she finished hotly. "James, almost everybody wants us apart! What if they succeeded right after it somehow got out? You know that secrets can't be kept in the castle, so don't try to suggest it." She added as he opened his mouth. Ignoring her friends' wide mouths, Lily continued. "James, I'd die inside if they somehow accomplished that. You are the only thing that held me steady when my Father died, and when I heard about his condition. I don't think that I'd be here if you hadn't been there for me, but I can't say yes. I-I'm sorry, but I want to get better. I don't want to come to yours broken and sour. I refuse to come to you that way. You deserve so much better. You deserve an angel James. Not me." Lily finished, choking on the last two words.  
  
  
  
James looked at Lily as if she were insane. "How the hell could you say that I don't deserve you? That I deserve something better? No one else can make me as happy as you do, as mad as you do, no one else can make my troubles go away as you do. No one else is you. I don't care if you're an angel, or if you're the devil himself, I want you, no one else." He screamed, not caring if half the world heard him. "I want you, forever." He finished with a whisper.  
  
  
  
"How can you want me? How? I'm so fucked up right now." She demanded in a harsh tone. "And I don't know if I'll ever be the same girl you fell in love with. I'm sorry. But that is how I feel. Just please, don't leave me." Lily ended with a plea. James shook his head and turned for the door. Without looking back, he called out, "I love you Lily, more than life itself, but it sounds as if you might need some time to heal yourself before you can be confident you know what you want again. I love you." With that last word, he walked out of the door, and out of Lily's life.  
  
  
  
"What have I done?" Lily cried out as she fell to her knees in helpless despair. She just pushed away the most important person in her life, just because she was still sore about her Father.  
  
  
  
Kayla and Aria sat on the floor on either side of Lily and tired to soothe her, but they didn't know what to do, so in the end they just levitated her to her bed and gave her a sleeping potion.  
  
  
  
The last image Lily saw before she fell asleep was James' face when she first told him that she loved him. The same face he held when he first made love to her. The face that she would dream about for the rest of her life.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
James aimlessly wandered the halls, thinking back on what had just happened. So many emotions were going on in his head that he couldn't define all of them.  
  
  
  
He was mad at himself for not noticing that Lily wasn't her usual cocky self.  
  
  
  
He was sad that she wouldn't promise herself to him.  
  
  
  
And he was torn up inside that he no longer even had her to hold.  
  
  
  
'What is the use of living anymore?' he asked himself. 'Lily was the only reason I was put on this earth to live, and now she's gone. Now she doesn't want me any more.'  
  
  
  
James brushed away his tears angrily. He didn't want to show weakness to anybody, but he knew that no matter what he did, Lily would always be a weakness, and all people had to do was look at him when Lily was in the room to tell.  
  
  
  
James walked up the steps to the Gryffindor boys' dorm room without even realizing it, and sprawled out on his bed, thinking about Lily.  
  
  
  
The last thing that flashed through his mind before he fell asleep was the look on Lily's face when they first made love.  
  
  
  
He dreamed about her that night, dreams filled with love and happiness, dreams where she was his, and his alone. Dreams where she promised to be his forever more in a beautiful white dress. Dreams that he would never forget.  
  
  
  
A/N2: Okay, this story only has a few more chapters left, so you aren't going to have to wait that long to see if they get back together.  
  
I'm starting the next chapter even before I post this, so I should have it out in a few days.  
  
And yes, I do know that there are a million and one errors in this story, but my beta is busy at the moment and I wanted to get these chapters out to you. And I'm sure that the next chapters will be hosting many errors also due to the fact that I'm going to have to do without her for a couple of weeks, so if you wish to read my story corrected, wait until sometime after the 15 of January.  
  
Happy Reading.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	33. Missing You

"Do I ever cross your mind, anytime Do you ever wake up reaching out for me Do I ever cross your mind anytime I miss you Still have your picture in a frame Hear your footsteps down the hall I swear I hear your voice, driving me insane . . ." Brian McKnight, 'Anytime'  
  
~*~*~*  
  
Chapter 33 - Missing you  
  
  
  
  
  
The next morning was unlike any morning Hogwarts has ever seen. For the first time since coming to Hogwarts, James, Sirius, and Remus all sat at the Gryffindor table while Lily, Kayla, and Aria all sat at the Ravenclaw table. This had never happened before! The school was in a uproar with gossip as to which couple was arguing, and why.  
  
  
  
By the time that Breakfast ended, Lily had heard that Kayla had broken up with Sirius because he had the nerve to stuff his past lovers in her face, that Aria and Remus broke up because they can't stand each other anymore, and that she and James broke up because she heard him talking about her father. Lily rolled her still slightly red eyes and walked out of the hall, not bothering to tell anyone where she was going.  
  
  
  
She felt hollow inside, and the only thing on her mind was James.  
  
  
  
'Why couldn't I have just said yes?' she wondered as she walked up to her room. 'I couldn't be more miserable than this, and at least then I'd have James.' Lily crawled into Kayla's bed, not wanting to be in hers. She didn't think that she would ever be able to sleep in that bed again. The sorrow that flashed across his face when he read her answer haunted her, every time she blinked that image was there. Tears began to fall from her eyes, and she didn't even care. 'It's your fault that he's gone Lily,' she yelled to herself. 'Just like it's your fault your father is gone.'  
  
  
  
Lily ended up falling back to sleep, still crying. When Kayla and Aria found her, they decided to just leave her alone and make up excuses for the teachers.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
Later that night, Sirius and Kayla were walking hand in hand around the corridors of Hogwarts. It was five minutes until curfew, but they didn't care. Sirius tugged on Kayla's hand to get her to follow him.  
  
  
  
Kayla looked at her boyfriend, taking in his appearance in the black Hogwarts pants, and the gray turtle neck sweater that he wore. Then, she realized that they were headed down a deserted corridor and looked at him in question. 'What is this guy up to now?' she wondered, but stayed silent.  
  
  
  
When Sirius stopped in front of a bare wall Kayla rolled her eyes. 'He got lost.' She thought to herself as she turned around, ready to walk back the way they came from. Instead, she felt herself being propelled forward, into the wall! 'Okay,' she admitted. 'Maybe he didn't lose his way.'  
  
  
  
The wall closed behind her, and Kayla turned around to see where they were, and gasped.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
For the first time since he and Kayla started dating, Sirius was silent as they walked around the castle. He was more nervous than he ever thought possible. 'What if she says no? What if we end up like Lily and James?' his mind buzzed with thoughts such as these.  
  
  
  
Late last night, after everybody was asleep, Sirius went in search for the perfect place. And somewhere close to four a.m., he found it.  
  
  
  
He readied the room himself. He lit all the candles, started the fire, transfigured things into a couch and a bed, just in case, and he spread the red roses around the room.  
  
  
  
Now, as he took Kayla down the hall that would lead to the room, he began feeling twitchy, and he knew that he was sweating something fierce. And his heart, that was beating faster than a hummingbird's, and he found that it was becoming hard to fill his lungs full of air as he lead Kayla into the room.  
  
  
  
He slowly looked at her when she gasped. "Do you like it?" he asked.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Kayla looked around the room. The couch was white, as was the lone bed on the other side of the room. Long-steamed roses were placed around the room, and on the table in front of the couch lay a small dinner. The fire in the fireplace was roaring cheerfully, and she could have sworn that she could hear Chopin in the background.  
  
  
  
"Do you like it?" Sirius asked her.  
  
  
  
Kayla looked at him in surprise. 'He did this?' she thought. Kayla gave the room another glance and nodded her head. And she heard Sirius' sigh of relief.  
  
  
  
"What is this all about, Sirius?"  
  
  
  
Sirius didn't say anything though, he just lead her to the couch and sat her down on it. And instead of sitting next to her like Kayla thought that he would, Sirius sat on the coffee table directly across from her. Kayla was beginning to get confused, and worried. 'What is he going to tell me?' she wondered. 'Please don't have him break up with me God. Please. I need him so much.' She thought frantically as the thought passed.  
  
  
  
"Kayla," Sirius begun in a shaky voice. "I love you. I don't know when it started, and I don't know why it had to be to the one person who inflicted more pain on me than a bludger, but I love you. It's as if I found my center when I'm around you. Like everything is right in life when you're by my side. As if nothing can ever go wrong when you are in the same room as me." He paused to take a breath and looked at Kayla.  
  
  
  
What he saw in her eyes shocked him. It was pain, and sorrow. 'What is she sad about?' he wondered. "Kayla, love?" he asked her as he genteelly cupped her cheek in his hand so that she couldn't look away from him. "What's wrong?"  
  
  
  
"What's wrong?" Kayla yelled as she jumped off of the couch. "You think that I don't know what this is about, Sirius Black? You think that I don't know why you brought me here? Well, I do!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.  
  
  
  
Sirius began to get scared. 'She doesn't want me. We're going to go through the same thing that James and Lily are.' He thought. "Kayla-" he started, but stopped dead at the next words that came out of her mouth.  
  
  
  
"I'm sorry if I'm not good enough for you Sirius. I'm sorry that you find me wanting, because I love you. More than anyone in this world could ever love you. And if you don't want me, just please, save me the trouble and tell me now." Kayla whispered fiercely.  
  
  
  
Sirius was shocked. 'Not want you! Hell, I was asking you to marry me and you say that I don't want you?' Sirius didn't realize that he said the words out loud.  
  
  
  
"Y-you were asking me to marry you?" she asked, astonished.  
  
  
  
Sirius got up and walked over to where she was standing. He looked Kayla in her eyes before he silently went down on one knee in front of her and took a box out of his pocket. He looked at Kayla in her simple dark blue jeans and black scoop neck sweater and smiled at her. 'She is so beautiful.' He thought.  
  
  
  
Sirius took a deep breath. "Kayla Cameron, I love you, and I want you forever more. There will never be another woman in life. So I'm begging you in a way, will you marry me?"  
  
  
  
Sirius waited, barely breathing as Kayla looked at him, then smiled and crouched in front of him.  
  
  
  
"Yes!" she cried, tears of happiness flowing down her cheeks.  
  
  
  
"Really?" Sirius asked, scared that he was hearing things.  
  
  
  
"Really." Kayla said, her smile growing wider.  
  
  
  
Sirius took the diamond and ruby ring out of it's box and slipped it onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly.  
  
  
  
Kayla held up her hand and examined the ring. It was made of four stones, two diamonds, and two rubies, and the band was done in white gold. She felt something warm flowing through her veins, but figured that it was just happiness. "It's beautiful." Kayla managed through her tears and hugged Sirius.  
  
  
  
"I'm glad you like it, baby." He whispered into her hair. Sirius tipped Kayla's head back and brushed her lips in a soft kiss. Kayla smiled against his lips and opened her mouth. Sirius didn't wait for another invitation and slipped his tongue inside her mouth. A white hot lance of lust and love shot through him and he pulled back from the kiss, smiling at Kayla's groan of displeasure. "Kay, honey," Sirius whispered across her lips. "Please, I need you. Will you let me have you?" he asked her.  
  
  
  
Kayla shocked Sirius by nodding her head and wrapping her arms more securely around his neck.  
  
  
  
Sirius didn't waste time asking her if she was sure, he scooped her up and laid her carefully on the bed.  
  
  
  
"I'm going to make this seem as if it was your first night. I promise you." Sirius informed her with a harsh whisper.  
  
  
  
Those were the last words spoken that night.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Lily couldn't stand sleeping in the same room that James had proposed to her, so she went to the Astronomy Tower, but then memories of their first night came to her and brought tears to her eyes. He was so tender and loving that night. And every other night that they made love. While they had had both slow and wild sex, he was always loving, and always thinking about her needs first. Sometimes she resented him for that. She could tell that he never let himself do what he wanted to do to her. He always held back from her.  
  
  
  
Lily sighed as she made her way outside. The night was chilly, and she was wishing that she put something other than her robe over her black pajama bottoms and her yellow hooded sweater.  
  
  
  
Lily made her way over to the lake and sat down, not even noticing that someone else was there too. Lily drew her knees up to her chest an laid her head on them, looking over the calm water.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
James had been sitting on the grass looking at the Ravenclaw girls 7th year dorm rooms window when he saw a shadow of a person sit down on the opposite bank. He squinted his eyes to see who it was, and caught his breath on a gasp. It was Lily! He would recognize that red hair anywhere. But - what was she doing out here instead of sleeping in her room?  
  
  
  
James forwent his study of the Ravenclaw girls dorm and looked at Lily, sadness and love shining in his eyes. He hadn't seen her all day. When Kayla and Aria came and sat with them at lunch, they had said that she was asleep in the dorm. He thought that it was just because she was tired, but as he looked at her, even from a distance, he could tell that it wasn't because of exhaustion, but it was because she felt as if she had nothing to hold on to anymore. Her once proud shoulders were slumped, and for the first time in his whole entire life, he saw Lily situate herself in a protective position.  
  
  
  
James felt tears prickle his eyes. He done this to her. He had made her feel lost and alone he made her feel vulnerable. He claimed that he loved her, but all he was doing was causing her more harm. James shut his eyes and willed the tears away. He didn't think that it was possible for him to cry anymore, but it seems that he was wrong. James didn't bother wiping the tears off of his face. He already knew that fresh ones'd just replace them.  
  
  
  
James watched as Lily laid down in a ball and fell asleep. He waited for an hour, content just to watch her sleep and then when the sky began to get light, he walked over to her and draped his cloak around her body, knowing that she would wake up when the sun rays hit her eye lids. James bent down and softly kissed her lips. He watched as her mouth curved in a smile, and he smiled in return when she snuggled into his cloak whispering his name.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
Lily woke up as the sun rose over the hills and shined down on the lake. She took a deep breath and stretched. And then took another breath. 'What the hell?' she thought as she sat up and looked around for James. She could smell him. She knew that smell, it was the smell of the ocean, of male, and his cologne. But he wasn't anywhere around. Lily frowned and looked around one more time. 'Great. Now I'm smelling him!' she thought as she stood up.  
  
  
  
It was then that she noticed the cloak. Lily bent to pick it up, and recognized it even before she picked it up. It was James'. Lily put it on over hers and started walking towards the castle. Even though she had to keep on pulling up the hem of the cloak, she kept it on until it was time for her to take a shower. She carefully hung the cloak in her closet, picked her things up and went into the bathroom to take a shower.  
  
  
  
"How did I get that cloak?" she asked herself as she stepped into the shower stall.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
  
Kayla walked into the Great Hall the next morning glowing. There was no other word for it. She was positively glowing. She sat down across from Lily, who was sitting next to Aria, and had the plus of being able to face the Gryffindor table.  
  
  
  
"What is wrong with you?" Aria asked.  
  
  
  
"Nothing." Kayla chirped happily.  
  
  
  
Kayla glanced at Lily who had her head resting on her arms, which were on the table, then glanced at James' back. He was seated in the same position. It was the same way yesterday at breakfast. They didn't face each other at all, and didn't even talk.  
  
  
  
Kayla sighed. She wished that she could do something for them, but she knew that they just needed to do this on their own.  
  
  
  
Kayla spotted Sirius walking in through the doors and practically beamed when she smiled at him. Sirius grinned in return and winked at her. Kayla blushed and began to load her plate with food. She was starving! 'Who knew that sex made you so hungry?' she thought to her self as she began to eat.  
  
  
  
"Okay, what is it that you're not telling?" Aria demanded.  
  
  
  
Kayla shook her head and continued eating.  
  
  
  
Lily lifted her head from her arms finally and looked closely at her best friend. While she might still be tired from having only two hours of sleep, she wasn't blind, and she knew Kayla well enough to know what was going on. Lily smirked. "You had sex last night." She accused.  
  
  
  
Kayla's head shot up and she looked around her, panicked that someone heard. When she saw that everyone was doing their own thing, she nodded her head. Lily raised her eyebrow, demanding to know if she thought that sex was worth it now and Kayla sighed. She knew that it would come to this last night.  
  
  
  
Kayla stood up, grabbed an apple and asked, "If you ladies don't mind missing our first class, I'll tell you."  
  
  
  
"Wait!" Lily screamed as she scrambled up out of her seat and ran after Kayla.  
  
  
  
"Tell me later!" Aria called out as she headed towards her class, not wanting to miss it.  
  
  
  
Lily and Kayla walked towards the secret room that they and the Marauders found silently. When they entered the room, Lily automatically pounced. "Well, did you like it?" she demanded.  
  
  
  
Kayla smiled and nodded her head. "I never knew that it would feel so . . . good. That it'd make me feel so free. Now I see why you always . . . . what's the word? Yearned? I don't know, why you always boasted on sex, I guess is what I was saying. I mean last night, Sirius was so gentle, so loving. Usually when a guy touches me, memories of getting raped flash through my head, but not with Sirius. All I could think about was his hands." She said with a sigh. "And what those hands were doing to me. God, I could barely even think!" then, as a after thought, Kayla asked, "Is it always like that? Like you can't get enough?"  
  
  
  
Lily looked at Kayla and shook her head. "No. It depends on your partner, and usually how skilled they are. But if you love them, it makes it all the more . . . exciting. To where you don't think of anything else but wanting them over and over and over again." She told her. Lily opened her mouth to say something else when she saw Kayla's ring finger.  
  
  
  
"Oh, my God! He asked you to marry him!" Lily exclaimed, excited for her friend.  
  
  
  
Kayla blushed and nodded her head. "Congratulations." Lily said as she hugged her friend ecstatically. "I'm so happy for you Kayla."  
  
  
  
Kayla looked up and looked into Lily's eyes. "Lily, saying yes had to have been the single most smartest thing that I have ever done in my life. I love him so much Lily. I mean I'm scared that girls are going to try to take him away from me, I mean come on, he's Sirius Black, but I trust him enough to stay true to me."  
  
  
  
Lily swallowed hard and looked away from Kayla. "But I don't know what I'd do if I saw James like he was before I left to take care of my Father. He didn't do anything to get the girls off of him, Kayla! Nothing. And I felt like I was nothing compared to them. As if I was second best. That he'd rather have a group of girls rather than one. Can you imagine how much worse it'd be if I was to be engaged to him! I'm scared of what I might do. I feel as if I have so much pressure building up in me that if one little thing lands on me, I'm going to break. That I'm going to go vicious. That I'm going to hurt someone. And I know that if I was to see James in that position again, that I'd snap, and that I'd hurt those girls. I feel so shaky right now, and I don't know which way to go to get to solid ground." Lily finished sadly.  
  
  
  
Lily and Kayla stayed quiet, Lily staring at the wall thinking about what she just said, and Kayla looking at her ring, wondering what she'd do if she saw Sirius in that position.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Sirius, James, Remus and Aria all stood silent outside of the door to the secret room, looking at James. James just stood there looking down at the floor, taking everything that he heard into consideration. 'So it's not because she doesn't love me.' He thought happily. 'But because she's scared of what might happen if I let my egotistical mind rule me.' He finished huffily.  
  
  
  
"Well, are we going to go in so we can hear this good news, or are we going to stand outside of the entrance like idiots and miss all of our classes?" James asked.  
  
  
  
Sirius perked up and beamed. They all went through the entrance to the room and looked back at Kayla and Lily.  
  
  
  
"Okay, Kayla and I have something important to share with you guys." Sirius said as he sat down on the arm rest of Kayla's chair, and waited for everyone else to do so. "Last night, I asked Kayla to marry me, and she being so entranced by my good looks and charm said yes. So, that means that I, Sirius Black am going to become a one woman man for the rest of my life."  
  
  
  
James and Lily looked at each other and shared a secret smile, thinking about the last time that he referred to himself as charming and what Kayla did to him.  
  
  
  
A round of Congratulations went around before everyone started to pile out of the door. Lily and James were left alone, and just looked at each other.  
  
  
  
"Thank you for your cloak." Lily whispered, feeling shy. 'Wait, why am I feeling shy? I've known James all my life, and all of a sudden I feel as if I'm a 11 year old girl talking to a 18 year old guy.' She thought. "Your welcome." James answered, breaking her thoughts. Lily looked at him. "Do you mind if I keep it?" she asked. James smiled a little and shook his head.  
  
  
  
Lily smiled gratefully. "Thank you."  
  
  
  
"I won't take it back as long as you give me something of yours." He informed her with a smile.  
  
  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. 'Should have known that there'd be a ultimatum in there.' She thought as she wondered what to give him. "What do you want?" she asked, tired of thinking.  
  
  
  
James smiled. "A piece of clothing that I've been wanting for a long time." He stated. Lily raised her eyebrow. "Your bra." He elaborated. Lily chuckled. 'Should've figured.'  
  
  
  
Lily took off her school robe and threw it over the chair, then pulled her shirt out of her skirt. Reaching behind her back, she flipped the fastening open. She then unbuttoned the cuffs of her uniform shirt, and reached her other hand inside of her sleeve and felt around for the strap. When she finally found it, she pulled it down her arm and off. She then repeated the exercise on the other arm, then reached under her shirt, drew it out and handed it to him. "Didn't you take my gray one from when we jumped each other in the perfects bathroom?" she asked as she tucked her shirt back into her skirt.  
  
  
  
James thought about it then shook his head. "No, but you took my boxers." He accused. Lily looked up from buttoning her cuffs and smiled. "Yes, but you took my underwear when I you paid a visit to the Ravenclaw dorms a few days ago." She retorted. "Then I guess we're even then." He said. Lily nodded her head then put her robe back on.  
  
  
  
"James?" she asked before she stepped out of the room. "Give me some time, then ask me again, and my answer will be different. I just don't trust myself at the moment." She admitted.  
  
  
  
"I will Lily, you can count on that, I will." James promised.  
  
  
  
Lily smiled. 'I hope you keep that promise.'  
  
  
  
"Quidditch starts next month," James yelled after her. "Are you back on the team?"  
  
  
  
"Wait and you'll see, Potter!" she yelled back before she closed the door, leaving a grinning James behind. 


	34. Quidditch Season

Note: Okay, I don't think that this is my best chapter, so I'm sort of thinking that it's going to suck big time . . . if you guys could like give me suggestions for this chapter I'd really appreciate it. And also, I won't be able to have the edited chapters up for a few weeks. Hope you enjoy!  
  
Mistress del Mare  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Chapter 34 - Quidditch Season  
  
  
  
The next month passed quicker than Lily imagined it would. But she found that between schoolwork, helping Kayla with her wedding, training James, Kayla, Aria, Sirius and Remus, and Quidditch practices, she didn't have much free time to even consider the day.  
  
  
  
It seemed like Ravenclaws first match just sort of . . . snuck up on her. The first game of the season was Gryffindors vs. Slytherin, and Gryffindor won the match by ten points. The next game to be played was Ravenclaw against Hufflepuff, which Lily was confident that they'd win because well because it was Hufflepuff!  
  
  
  
She was right. The score was 280-100 in Ravenclaws favor.  
  
  
  
Soon the last game of the season was set. Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw. The teams had a month and a half to prepare.  
  
  
  
One particular morning, the guys decided to go back to what they used to do before Lily and James broke up and headed towards the Ravenclaw table, leaving a scowling Peter to walk alone towards the Gryffindor table.  
  
  
  
By now, everyone already knew that James and Lily had broken up, and were a bit startled to see the guys walking over towards the Ravenclaw table. Sirius sat next to Kayla-who was opposite of Lily-facing the Slytherins, who was next to Aria, to whom Remus sat next to. Leaving the only vacant spot open next to Lily.  
  
  
  
Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion. 'What are they trying to do?' she wondered as she saw James hesitate to sit down from the corner of her eye. Lily sighed. "I don't bite James." She snapped, irritated.  
  
  
  
James smiled at her sheepishly and sat down next to her before he started to pile his plate with food. Lily looked at his plate and shook her head. It looked like one big glob of mush to her, and utterly disgusting. Lily rolled her eyes before she looked down at her plate of eggs and bacon.  
  
  
  
She knew what her friends were trying to do. They were trying to make her and James talk and get back together. They had been trying such ploys as this one for the past four months. Ever since Quidditch season had started. It had been almost seven months exactly since they had broken up, and they barely even talked. 'So much for our wizard promise not to let this come between our friendship.' She thought sourly.  
  
  
  
She did have to admit though that she did miss him. She missed being able to rest her head on his shoulder in the mornings when she was particularly tired, she missed being able to hold him, she missed his teasing smile, she missed the way he used to always look at her with that smile that he only wore for her. She missed him. Plain and simple. And she still loved him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
(James' Point of View)  
  
I sit down with a guilty expression. I can't deny that I've been trying to stay away from her since that day in the secret room when Sirius and Kayla told us the good news. I have been trying to give her time. Time to heal. Time to know what she wants. But I'm starting to get impatient. How am I supposed to know how long I have to wait?  
  
  
  
And if I have to watch another boy walk up and ask her out, I'm going to have to cut their head off. They should know that she is someone else's property. Mine. They're lucky that she keeps on refusing too. I'm positive that if she was to accept an invitation that I'd simply have to kill the bastard.  
  
  
  
I'm forever studying her in classes, the way she impatiently brushes away her hair that falls out of her high ponytail, or the way her graceful hands twirl her quill in her fingers when she's listening to a teacher, or the way she nibbles on her lower lip when she's thinking-and it always makes me want to jump up out of my chair and nibble on those lips myself-I just can't stop looking at her. I don't think that I'll ever be able to either. I love her. Even when I'm not with her, I'd still die for her.  
  
  
  
Why is it that love always has to hurt? Somehow, you always end up hurt somewhere along the line when you fall in love. And that pain in your heart is the worse pain that you can imagine. Or at least it is for me.  
  
  
  
Sometimes, when I'm laying in my bed thinking while everyone else is sleeping, I imagine that pain just taking over my body and making my life so much easier by making me hollow. Empty. Then I wouldn't have the energy to cry over Lily at night. Or the energy to care what she does. But that feeling, that clenching around the heart-it doesn't go away, and it doesn't fully consume you either. It just grows and grows and grows until you feel like there is nothing left in the world to live for except knowing that your loved one is happy. It takes over your body until just enough of your sanity is left to let you know how bad it hurts every time you see her smile at someone else, every time you see her exhausted face, and every time she looks like she dead on her feet.  
  
  
  
It's driving me mad. Whenever I start thinking that the feeling is going to go away, it just gets stronger. I don't think that I can wait much longer. I think that I just need to start talking to her again. Maybe that will help this feeling. Maybe not, but I have to try. Anything is better than this pain I'm feeling in my heart whenever I hear her name or see her.  
  
~*~*~*~*  
  
(Normal View)  
  
James turned towards Lily. "How's the Quidditch training going?" he asked.  
  
  
  
Lily gaped at James. She definitely was NOT expecting him to talk to her! "It's going okay." She managed to stutter out in a small voice.  
  
  
  
James raised an eyebrow at her. "Well, your team is going to have to do better than 'okay' to beat us Gryffindors," he taunted.  
  
  
  
Lily was practically glowering at him. 'How dare he insult my team!' her mind cried out in outrage. "Oh, we'll beat you alright." She told him acidly. "Believe me, we'll beat you, and then you'll have to eat your words James Potter!" she yelled at him, causing everyone to stop what they were doing at look in their way. Lily stood up and stalked out of the Great Hall in a huff. 'The nerve of that man! He doesn't talk to me in almost six months, and when he does it's an insult!' she fumed.  
  
  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
  
  
Ever since that day, Lily worked her team harder and longer. She was not going to let James Potter beat her.  
  
  
  
The chasers learned new techniques, the beaters learned better aim, the seeker learned how to accomplish a higher speed, and the Keeper learned how protect the goals better. By the time the last match came up, every single Ravenclaw player was ready to kill Lily Evans. But they knew that if they lost this that she would never in a million years let them live it down.  
  
  
  
"Today we are here to witness the last Quidditch game of the season! Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw!" screeched the announcer, a fourth year Hufflepuff guy by the name Andrew Jennings. "And starting with the Gryffindor team we have . . . Black, Figgs, Bodean, Williams, McMain, Spinnet, and the Gryffindor Captain, James Potter!"  
  
  
  
After the Gryffindor team had done their rounds over the field, Andrew continued on; "And for the Ravenclaw team we have, Cameron, Galley, Williams, Quincey, Davis, Winterly, and the Ravenclaw Captain, Lily Evans!"  
  
  
  
When the announcer started to call off the Ravenclaw team, Lily's heart began to beat a little faster.  
  
  
  
Sure, she had played many games against James before, but that was when they had been friends. Now it felt as if she had more at stake than she usually did. It felt as if she just ihadi to win this game, that she IhadI to show James that she could posses enough passion in her to win this. She wanted to show James that she fought for her passions, but she doubted that he would know what this game was about to her without her telling him.  
  
  
  
Lily took a deep breath and flew up into the sky and around the pitch once before settling into her position.  
  
  
  
"Shake hands now." Madame Hooch told the Captains.  
  
  
  
James grinned at Lily and shook her hand.  
  
  
  
Lily glowered at him and shook her hand. When the whistle blew to begin the game, Lily lost thought of everything else except getting the Quaffle into the hoops. (Sirius is a beater as is Kayla, Aria is a chaser, as is Lily, and James is a Seeker. Remus doesn't play because it is too hard to play on the days of his illness.)  
  
  
  
(A/N: okay, I don't know how to describe a quidditch match, so I'm not going to try, but if one of you guys would like to do so, you may email it to me at mymonkeygurl21@aol.com. )  
  
  
  
Lily saw James do a nosedive out from the corner of her eyes and prayed to God that Michelle Winterly, the Ravenclaw Seeker, was on James' tail. For some reason, Lily just IknewI that James had spotted the snitch.  
  
  
  
Lily managed to trick the Keeper into thinking that she was going to feint left, when she was really going to just shoot a straight shot and threw the Quaffle into the hoops, scoring another 20 points for her team.  
  
  
  
As the Quaffle came back into the pit of Chasers, Madame Hooch blew her whistle, declaring Ravenclaw the winner by 10 points!  
  
  
  
Lily closed her eyes and allowed herself to have a small smile before she landed to accept the Quidditch trophy.  
  
  
  
James smiled as he saw Lily bask in her triumph. While still a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten the snitch first, he couldn't help but smile at the look of pure delight on Lily's face.  
  
  
  
"Soon Lily Evans . . . Soon." James whispered as he exited the field to go take a shower. 


	35. Memories of the Lost

Chapter 35 - Memories of the Lost  
  
  
  
It had been two weeks since the final Quidditch Match, and Lily finally begun to wind down just enough to realize what day it was. It was May 15 . . . six days before her father had died.  
  
  
  
Lily was sitting on her bed in the dorm room when she realized this, and she automatically felt ashamed for coming close to forgetting about her Fathers' death. Lily got out of bed to the window that over looked the lake that was next to her bed. "I love you, Daddy." She whispered quietly, feeling tears slid down her cheek as they always did when she thought of her father.  
  
  
  
Lily heard someone enter the room, and looked over towards the door. Kayla stood within the doorway, looking around the room gloomily.  
  
  
  
"You're starting to miss him too, aren't you?" Lily questioned softly as she looked at her best friend who seemed more like a sister to her.  
  
  
  
Kayla looked up into Lily's eyes. "I always dreamed of him walking me down the alter . . . I never thought of Phillip doing so. And I always thought that he'd be a part of my wedding, if I ever did get married, but now, well, it's just a huge shock to know that he's not going to be there. And the fact is, it just hit me a that it has almost been exactly a year since I've gotten a letter from him . . . tomorrow will mark that day, and it has almost been a year since I've buried the only father I ever considered so." Lily looked at her friend, and with a shaky voice replied, "I know Kayla . . . it's harder than I ever thought that it would be."  
  
  
  
Kayla stepped out of the doorway and into her room, walking over to Lily's bed and sitting on it. "You have something on your mind." Kayla accused with that accuracy that only the best of best friends could possess. Lily nodded her head, knowing that it was useless trying to admit otherwise.  
  
  
  
"Kayla, have you ever noticed that sometimes we just sort of happen to leave Aria out of things?" Lily inquired.  
  
  
  
Kayla opened her mouth to reply, and then shut it. They did tend to do that. "I guess we do, don't we." She allowed softly.  
  
  
  
"Pouncy, we've always been close, but I don't know, it seems like sometimes we tend to just . . . leave her out of things you know? We don't really pay attention to her sometimes. I know we don't mean it, but we do, don't we?" Lily wondered as she sat on her bed Indian style, facing Kayla.  
  
  
  
Kayla nodded her head gloomily. "She doesn't even notice though." Kayla hedged. "She knows that we are inseparable, and she gives us our space, but I get what you're trying to say. We're not as close with Aria. I mean sure she's our best friend, but we don't know her like we know each other. And you know that she's alright with it Huntress, she told us so when we first became friends with that shy little girl we met in first year."  
  
  
  
"Yeah, I know that, but I still feel bad about it." Lily admitted more to herself than Kayla.  
  
  
  
"But that isn't what is bothering you." Kayla insisted.  
  
  
  
"But that isn't what is bothering me." Lily replied in a monotone voice. "I've been thinking of why exactly I turned down James that night." She told Kayla in a distant voice, sounding as if she was still thinking, but letting her friend know her thoughts. "Almost everyone who means the world to me end up . . . dead; Papa, Cammy, Uncle Brandon, Cousin Heather. At the time when I refused, I thought that I was saying no because I wasn't sure if I could handle something happening, but now that I've had so long to think about it, I'm thinking that maybe it's because I'm scared of losing him for good. I think that his death would kill me . . . I don't think that I could live, knowing that he isn't alive. I think that what I felt at Daddy's funeral would be nothing compared to what I would feel if it was James that I saw being lowered into the ground. I'm really scared Pouncy. But I don't know if I can go on without him any longer. I need him. I need him more than I need to breath, and I know that I'm going to run out of oxygen soon if I don't get him back. But I don't want to be afraid for the rest of my life." Lily ended, the last word coming out on a sob.  
  
  
  
Lily hadn't been paying attention to who was in the room while she was talking, was startled to see James sitting on the bed where Kayla had been, what seemed like moments ago.  
  
  
  
"I was delivering a message to Kayla from Sirius when you had started to talk, and I couldn't help but listen, and Kayla decided to leave us alone." James told her. "Lily, is that really why you said no to me? Because you're afraid that I might leave you?"  
  
  
  
Lily nodded her head in shame. "James . . . it's just that . . . I love you, and I can't, and won't imagine my life without you. There are very few reasons I'm still here, breathing James, and you are one of those reasons. You are the foremost reason. And I don't think that anything would be able to hold me back if you were to die on me too, James. Nothing!" Lily cried out passionately, while tears began to flow freely down her cheeks.  
  
  
  
"Aww . . . Baby, come here." James instructed her as he opened his arms to her.  
  
  
  
Lily flung herself into his embrace, needing it more than she thought possible. God how she missed his arms! "I'm so sorry James. I didn't mean to drive you away." Lily sobbed into his chest.  
  
  
  
James continued to stroke Lily's back while she cried. "You didn't drive me away, Lil. You could never do that. I just . . . I felt embarrassed that I was refused. I thought that you would be ready for something like marriage just because I was. I mean, isn't it the male who is usually behind on such matters?" he joked. And when he got a faint laugh out of Lily, he smiled and looked down at the thick, beautiful auburn hair that he was petting. "I love you Lily. But I couldn't wait any longer to ask you that. I had bought the ring and everything, and I just felt like it had to be then, no other time. If anyone screwed our relationship up, it was me."  
  
  
  
Lily shook her head in denial. "How about we blame no one?" she asked. James nodded and Lily smiled.  
  
  
  
"Does this mean that we're going back out?" James wondered as he continued to play with Lily's hair. He had always loved that particular part of her. The color was captivating to him. He had never seen any other human with the same color. And then there were her eyes: his second obsession. At times they reminded him of emeralds, then other times, they reminded him of the deep green of the ocean.  
  
  
  
"I hope so, because these past seven months have been hell on me. I don't think that I've even gotten a decent sleep since you walked out that door. And I can't sleep if I don't have your scent around me . . . which is why I wear your cloak at night." Lily's hand flew to her mouth as she realized what she just let slip out of her mouth. 'I so did not mean to tell him that!' her brain screamed even as she felt her cheeks start to burn.  
  
  
  
James chuckled. "No reason to be embarrassed, love. If you must know, I keep your bra under my pillow to make me feel closer to you."  
  
  
  
Lily looked up at James. "Do you even remember that bra?" Lily asked him.  
  
  
  
James gave Lily a funny look. "Why should I remember it?" he asked.  
  
  
  
"That was the bra that almost flew out the abandoned Charms classroom window the last time we made love." Lily informed him with a smirk.  
  
  
  
"Lily, honey, in case you hadn't noticed, at the time I wasn't paying any attention what so ever to what you were wearing. I was paying more attention on how to get you out of what you were wearing." James told her in a tone that suggested that her question was more suited for a three year old.  
  
  
  
Lily rolled her eyes. 'Some things never change.' She thought as she settled her head back down onto James' shoulder, and began to drift off to sleep.  
  
  
  
James, realizing that Lily was falling asleep on him, automatically pulled back her covers, slipped off his shoes, put his glasses on her nightstand, and laid down with her nestled by his side. "I love you, Lily." He whispered into her hair as he, too, fell asleep.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
It didn't take long the next day for everyone to get the news that Lily and James were back together. The whole day, it seemed like you turned a corner and you ran into them either kissing, or as the first years put it 'looking stupidly into each others eyes as if they were searching for a speck of dust in them.' People were starting to get most disgusted by the major PDA that they were showing. (Public Display of Attention)  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Unfortunately for the population of Hogwarts, by May 21 they were all wishing that Lily would go back to trying to snog James senseless, as she became a total bitch.  
  
  
  
On May 20, Lily had lost her temper. She had caught a sixth year Ravenclaw flirting outrageously with James while he had been in the library studying, and she had walked over to the girl, and pulled her up by the hair, and simply told her 'hands off.' Although she might have pulled out a few strings of the Ravenclaws pretty blond hair while she was doing so.  
  
  
  
On May 21, Kayla Cameron had joined the bitchy club. She had nearly bitten off the head of a seventh year Gryffindor who simply asked how she was doing. Even James and Sirius were snapped at. Everyone learned early that morning NOT to talk to the two girls if you still wanted your body the way it was after Malfoy and Snape came over to the Ravenclaw table to give the girls hell, who in return ended up with tails, ringing heads from being hit with the plates, and bruised eyes for commenting on Lily's father.  
  
  
  
By the end of May 21, no body would go near the girls. Not even Aria dared to!  
  
  
  
But, on May 26, both girls stood up on the Gryffindor table and apologized for their behavior.  
  
  
  
Everyone let out a grateful breath, knowing that they wouldn't have to deal with the two bitchy sixth years and the final exams. At least that was one thing that they didn't have worry about. Now they just had to worry about passing the exams! 


	36. Graduation

Chapter 36 - Graduation  
  
  
  
From May 26 to June 8, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was eerily quiet. No pranks were pulled, the Marauders, nor the girls made no noises, and if you dared to even whisper a word in the Ravenclaw common room while Lily was studying you got a glare that could freeze your bones.  
  
  
  
June 9, the testing began. After two weeks of studying, Lily felt confident that she would pass all of her classes. From the looks on her friend's faces, they didn't feel as confident as she did.  
  
  
  
Lily sat next to James in Transfiguration and waited for the test to be passed out.  
  
  
  
As soon as the teacher said that they may go ahead and start, Lily opened her booklet and started on question one.  
  
  
  
Question 1: what is the required words to make a pin turn into a cushion?  
  
The required words needed to make a pin transfigure into a cushion are 'transformus cushiono.'  
  
The questions got harder the further you got into the hundred paged book. The last question got Lily by surprise though.  
  
  
  
Question 1,000: Do you feel satisfied with the work that you have learned in your seven years here? Not only in Transfiguration class, but in all of your classes?  
  
Lily stopped and thought about this one. 'Am I satisfied with what I have learned here in school?' she asked herself. Lily picked up her quill, dipped it in ink, and answered:  
  
  
  
I find that I feel as if I could learn more about the art of Potions, but rather than that particular subject, I feel as if I have learned all that is necessary. But that does not mean that I think that I could not learn more than what I already do. Everyone can learn more.  
  
  
  
Lily re-read her answer and sighed with satisfaction. When she reviewed her test to make sure that she was happy with all of her answers, she raised her hand and Professor McGonagall came and took away her test.  
  
  
  
It was pretty much exactly like that except in Defense Against the Dark Arts, seeing as the six friends were doing something totally different from the rest of the school. So, Professor Dumbledore just told them to take the rest of the day off, seeing as that was the last test that anyone took for the rest of the school year, or for some, the rest of their lives.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Three days before Graduation, Professor Dumbledore stood up at dinner and announced to the seventh years that there would be a Hogwarts trip for them tomorrow so that they could buy last minute items for the ceremony.  
  
  
  
The next day, Lily, James, Kayla, Sirius, Aria and Remus were all walking down the streets of Hogwarts, the boys somewhat reluctantly, wrapped in their loved ones embrace, trying to figure out where to go first.  
  
  
  
"You know what?" Lily asked irritably, stopping and dislodging James' arm from her waist as she turned around so that she could see everyone's faces'. "Why don't we - the girls - go one way, and you guys go another, and we'll meet you in the Three Broom Sticks in three hours okay?" she huffed. Lily looked at the girls to see if they agreed.  
  
  
  
Kayla and Aria were looking at Lily with relief sketched all over their faces. It was always . . . nerve wreaking to shop with the Marauders. They just had to touch everything!  
  
  
  
Sirius looked excited. "Do you mean it? Do you really mean that we don't have to go with you girls?" he questioned.  
  
  
  
Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "You three are free for three hours. Now go! Before we change our minds!"  
  
  
  
Sirius let go of Kayla's hand and rushed over to Lily, almost knocking her over with the force of the hug that he gave her. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he chanted happily until James smacked him upside the head.  
  
  
  
"Go smoother your own girlfriend Padfoot." James instructed good-naturedly.  
  
  
  
Lily laughed and tried to unsuccessfully untangle her body from Sirius'. "Sirius, if you don't let me go this instant I am going to make sure that you go to every freakin' store with us, got it?" Lily practically yelled.  
  
  
  
Sirius gulped and backed away. "Right-o! Sorry!"  
  
  
  
"Now go!" Kayla demanded.  
  
  
  
Sirius grinned at his fiancée. "Have fun, love." He told her and kissed her on the cheek. It was still hard to imagine that if he was to do that two years ago that he would have ended up injured. Now the only time he ever ended up injured with Kayla was when they were in bed, but those were injuries that he took pride in.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Now scat." Kayla said lovingly.  
  
  
  
Remus turned towards the girl on his arm and gave her a hug. "I'll see you in a few hours, love." He whispered as he let go. "Okay." Aria replied with a smile on her face.  
  
  
  
James shifted the few inches that were in between him and his girlfriend and stroked her hair. "I'll see you in three hours beautiful." He whispered as he brushed his lips across hers. Lily smiled. "Count on it." She told him as she backed away.  
  
  
  
"Bye!" they all yelled out over their shoulders as they went their own way.  
  
  
  
"Now, lets get those dresses that you two just had to pull me out of bed for." Kayla said trying to act gloomy, but her eyes showed her excitement.  
  
  
  
Lily smiled, and being the shop-a-holic that she was, dragged Kayla into the robes shop by her arm and went straight to the dresses and begun to pile dress after dress into Kayla's arms. "Now, go try those on." Lily instructed as soon as she was satisfied that she had picked out enough selections.  
  
  
  
Kayla did as she was told, albeit grumbling her way to the changing stalls.  
  
  
  
Lily then started looking for herself. She went through the reds but decided that they would clash with her hair. She then went through the blacks, but thought that they'd look too . . . .morbid. Then she moved to the emerald and sea greens, and begun picking out dresses. Coming out of the greens with only three dresses, she went over to the light blues, but they were all either too short, too old looking, or just plain ugly. Then she began looking through the whites. They were all so . . . beautiful, she didn't know which ones to get. She carefully selected four white dresses and then went over to where Aria was searching.  
  
  
  
"You know Aria, you would look fabulous in a light blue dress, or maybe even a silver one." Lily told her as she was looking through purple shades. Aria looked into Lily's eyes, startled. "You really think so?" she asked. Lily smiled and nodded. "You always look fab-" she started, but soon stopped, finding it hard to talk.  
  
  
  
Kayla had just come out in one of her dresses. It was something like she had never worn before. If Kayla had to wear a dress, it was always long. But this dress, it was short, different from the original Kayla style. It was a white dress with a sheer gray fabric over it that also had glitter running around on the bottom hem. The dress's hem brushed her knee tops, and was held up by thin straps of glittered fabric. The dress showed her legs off to perfection, although you could see two of her tattoos, her body looked magnificent in that dress.  
  
"Kay, you have got to get that dress!" Lily whispered in awe. "Sirius will flip!" she said a little louder.  
  
  
  
"What about the tattoos?" Kayla asked.  
  
  
  
Lily smiled. "There is a spell that people can use to hide them."  
  
  
  
"So," Kayla muttered, "I get the dress? Do you really think that Sirius will like it?" she wondered as she circled.  
  
  
  
"Kayla. Sirius will love it!" Aria stuttered in wonder, finally getting her voice back from the shock.  
  
  
  
Kayla smiled and returned to the dressing room to change.  
  
  
  
"As I was saying, you always look fabulous in light colors." Lily said, directing her words towards Aria. "Now, follow me so that I can pick something out for you."  
  
  
  
Aria rolled her eyes at her friend's back, but nothing less followed.  
  
  
  
"You're a size three, aren't you?" Lily asked Aria.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, I am."  
  
  
  
"Good, now go try this dress on." Lily told her, handing her a dress like Kayla's except it was white on light blue.  
  
  
  
Lily walked with Aria towards the changing room and got into a stall herself. She tried on the green dresses, but they all looked terrible on her. She then went to one of the white dresses. It the bottom layer of the dress was white silk with a white knitted material over it, and tied around Lily's neck, and stopped an inch above her knee caps. Lily turned around to face the mirror and gasped. She found her dress.  
  
  
  
Lily stepped out of the stall to see Kayla and Aria waiting for her. Aria was in her dress, and it complimented every curve in her body. It looked as if it was made for her.  
  
  
  
"What do you think?" Lily asked the gaping girls self-consciously.  
  
  
  
"James is going to die of a heart-attack when he sees you in that!" Kayla complimented her.  
  
  
  
Lily smiled and walked back into the stall. That was just what she wanted to hear.  
  
  
  
After the robes shop, they had to go and get shoes, and then make up. By the time they were done, they were already five minutes late for meeting the boys.  
  
  
  
The girls ran down the streets towards the Three Broom Sticks and ran into three impatient boys.  
  
  
  
"Oops." Lily mumbled as she stopped in front of James.  
  
  
  
James chuckled. "What took you so long?" he asked as he threw an arm around her shoulders and led her inside the pub.  
  
  
  
"We forgot the time." Lily replied. Lily looked at his bag, then back up to his face.  
  
  
  
"Is that the end of the year prank stuff?" she asked, pointing to the Zonko's bag. James shook his head. "No. This is a little gift for a Mr. Snape and Malfoy."  
  
  
  
Lily's ears perked up and the mention of Snape's name. "Ohhh! What is it?" she demanded, only to have James shake his head and tell her with that all so patient tone, "You'll see tomorrow, won't you?" Lily glared at him, and sat down with a thump at a table and crossed her arms across her breasts. "Don't pout Lilsie . . . Please?" James asked with a puppy face. Lily laughed and lowered her arms. "Don't do that face James, it makes you look disoriented." She chuckled.  
  
  
  
The rest of the day, the Marauders, and the Marauders' girls' enjoyed the last time they'd ever be students in the pub.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The morning of Graduation was so hectic that Lily couldn't even remember what happened until she took her seat in the front row of Ravenclaws.  
  
  
  
All of the graduates wear wearing the robes that were issued by the school. The Ravenclaws had black and baby blue ones, the Hufflepuff's had yellow and black ones, the Slytherins had Green and Silver ones, and the Gryffindors had Gold and Scarlet ones.  
  
  
  
The Heads made their speeches, and then the house heads, and then, finally Dumbledore made his.  
  
  
  
The Slytherin house was called up first, then the Hufflepuffs, and then the Gryffindors, and then, finally, the Ravenclaws.  
  
  
  
"I now give you lady's and gentlemen, the class of '82!" Dumbledore yelled, and cheers erupted. (A/N: Okay, I didn't know which year they graduated or anything, so I'm sorry if that is wrong.)  
  
  
  
Suddenly, a huge pile of dung-bombs, fireworks, and many other small prank gadgets landed on Snape and Malfoy, along with pictures of their most embarrassing moments that they had had since coming to Hogwarts. Everyone but the Slytherins and their parents were doubled over in laughter. "Good one, Boys!" Mr. Potter yelled over the laughter. James, Sirius, and Remus bowed in recognition and drew their girls off the stage.  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay, the next chapter is my last one, and I'm almost done with that one, so don't worry about waiting long for it. And I'm sending all the rest of my chapters to my beta as soon as I finish with the last chapter.  
  
  
  
Happy Reading,  
  
  
  
Mistress del Mare 


	37. Forever Yours

Authors Note: In chapter 35 I put PDA and then in parenthesis's Public Display of Attention . . . . it's supposed to be Public Display of Affection. Sorry about that screw up. And please read the bottom A/n . . . it's important.  
  
  
  
Chapter 37 - Forever yours  
  
After the laughter wound down, Lily and James set out looking for their parents together, while Kayla and Sirius went to look for the Blacks, and Remus and Aria went to look for their parents.  
  
  
  
"You know," James told Lily as he began to unlace his robes to show the white oxford shirt underneath with the top two buttons undone, and his black pants. "I thought that I'd feel different when I graduated, but I don't."  
  
  
  
"Why'd you think that you'd feel different?" Lily asked as she twined her arm through his.  
  
  
  
"I don't really know." He allowed with a shrug. "Hey, there's your mom." James pointed to the right of them, and there she was, Alexandra Evans, looking beautiful as ever in her dark blue dress.  
  
  
  
Lily let go of James and unsophisticatedly ran across the lawn towards her Mother. "Mama!" she cried as she launched herself into her Mother's arms. "I missed you Mama."  
  
  
  
"I missed you too, baby." Mrs. Evans choked out, hugging her daughter harder. "I missed you so much. The house was lonely without your Dad there to keep me company. And while Petunia did come and visit, I just found that that girl is simply horrible! She always had something bad to say about someone . . . depressing if you ask me," Mrs. Evans told her daughter as she wiped away her tears. "Ahh, James, cutie. How have you been dear?" she asked as James joined them.  
  
  
  
"Perfect Alex." James told her with a charming grin. Mrs. Evans smiled at his manner and asked, "And how have you been treating my Daughter?"  
  
  
  
"Mama!" Lily hissed. "It's none of your business!" Alexandra looked at her daughter and raised an eyebrow. "Really now? So something did happen?" Lily groaned. "Mama!" Lily whispered frantically. Alexandra smiled and patted her Daughter's head. "Okay dear, I won't say ask anything more on the matter." 'For now that is.' Alexandra silently promised to herself.  
  
  
  
"Thank you, Mama." Lily sighed with relief. "James and I are going to look for his parents now, okay?" Alexandra nodded her head. "I'm going to talk to the Blacks, I'll see you in a little bit, okay, honey?" Her mother asked.  
  
  
  
"'Kay!" Lily shouted over her shoulder, causing many people too look at her with disapproving looks as she walked by.  
  
  
  
James looked at his girlfriend, slung his right arm over her shoulders and smiled. 'No one will ever be as unique as my Lily.' He thought. "Lils," he said out loud, "Haven't you ever heard of the word quiet?" Lily looked at James. "Ummm . . . " she thought. "Quiet? Does that mean in a small voice? If so, no, I haven't." she joked. James laughed. "I love you, Lily."  
  
  
  
"Well then, that's good, considering I love you, too." Lily told him with a smile on her face. "And I just found your parents. They're walking towards us." She told him.  
  
  
  
Lily slipped her left arm around his waist and waited for the Potter's to make their way around the Longbottoms and Davies'.  
  
  
  
"That prank was brilliant!" Michael Potter boasted to his son as he and his wife stopped in front of the young couple. "How'd you pull it off?" he asked before his wife nudged him in the ribs. "Err . . . Right. Sorry about that dear." Mr. Potter grinned at his wife, making Tiffany Potter roll her eyes. "You'll never change when it comes to pranks Mike, dear." She informed him with a twinkle in her eyes. "Of course not, dear. After all, that is why you love me, is it not?" Mr. Potter told her cheekily. James and Lily looked at each other laughed.  
  
  
  
'It's uncanny how much James is like his father.' Lily thought for the twenty millionth time in her life.  
  
  
  
"Anyways dears," Tiffany Potter said, returning her attention to James and Lily. "We just came over to say congratulations on your Graduation, and that we will see you all in Hogsmeade after the party that is being held, okay?" James and Lily nodded their heads.  
  
  
  
"'Bye Mom, Bye Dad." James told them as they began to walk away. "'Bye Mr. and Mrs. Potter!" Lily yelled once again over her shoulder as James and she walked through the crowds of graduates and their families. The couple stopped and chatted with the Black's, Lupin's, and William's and some of their other friends' and their families before walking towards the party area.  
  
  
  
By that time, Aria and Kayla had already taken off their robes to show off the dresses underneath them. As predicted, the dresses were smashing hits with Remus and Sirius. Kayla's especially. Sirius just stood in his spot, gaping at his fiancée, still holding up her robe as if she was still in it.  
  
  
  
"When-Where-My God!" Sirius finally managed to exclaim with a gulp as his eyes devoured Kayla. Kayla rolled her eyes, and even though it was hard to see, she blushed prettily at Sirius' lack of words, and began to walk away, leaving Sirius there to run and follow her.  
  
  
  
Remus' reaction however, was different. While his eyes got wide at the sight of his girlfriend in an outfit as low as that one, he just smiled widely and held out his arm to her. "Shall we, beautiful?" he drawled. Aria giggled slightly and laced her arm through his. "Yes, we shall," she replied to him happily.  
  
  
  
"I'm going to miss this place." Lily told James as they walked hand in hand in the wake of their friends' towards a table. Lily finally slipped off her robe and sat it on a chair vacant chair at the table that Sirius, Kayla, Remus and Aria had already abandoned for the dance floor.  
  
  
  
James gasped at the dress that she wore underneath the robes. It was made of the purest white material with a silky white bottom layer and knitted white layer over it, the straps hugged her neck and tied in the back, and left a wonderful view of her nice, tan legs to be seen. "Lily!" James whined. "You're trying really hard to test my self-control, aren't you?" he groaned, after all of his blood flow rushed beneath his belt. Lily smirked knowingly. "Let's go and dance." She said while grabbing his hand and dragging him along with her to the dance floor. James decided to be smart - or in his point of view, and stayed behind her for the tantalizing view of her ass.  
  
  
  
Lily stopped on the edge of the dance floor and turned herself into his arms. She wrapped her arms securely around his neck, and sighed with satisfaction when his arms wrapped protectively around her waist. The music was a fast beat, but neither of them paid any attention to it, and just swayed to the music that was playing in their heads. "You know, this is the first time that we have ever danced as a couple?" James mused.  
  
  
  
Lily laughed and thought about it. It was true, and she said so. "Yeah, I know. It's weird, I mean we've danced hundreds of dances together, but none of them had ever felt as good as this one does," She told him.  
  
*~*~*~*  
  
Across the ballroom, a lone figure stood in the shadows watching Lily Evans with a gaping mouth, and the only thoughts going through his mind was, 'Would she be willing to take that dress off for me?'  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Five minutes later, "Lils?"  
  
  
  
"Hmm?" came the sleepily voice.  
  
  
  
"Come with me please. There's something I want to show you." James requested nervously.  
  
  
  
Lily yawned and nodded her head. Threading her fingers through James', they walked towards the Lake and sat down on a bench that was situated on top of a hill that over looked the lake.  
  
  
  
"Lily. So much has changed since I asked you to marry me over eight and a half months ago. But one thing hasn't. I love you so very much." James told her as he moved so that he could look into her eyes. "And that will never change. When I asked you this question last time, all I could talk about was making you mine, making sure that you'd be mine for the rest of my life." Lily gasped. 'He's going to ask me to marry him!' her mind screamed excitedly. And this time, this time she was going to give him the right answer.  
  
  
  
James moved off of the bench and kneeled before Lily's crossed legs. He dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a deep blue jewelers box. "Lily, not a day goes by that I don't think about you, that I need you. And I'm not just talking about the sex. I need you to lift my spirits when they're down; I need you there for me to make me laugh, to make me human. Because that's exactly what I am without you. Lifeless. You are what makes my life worth living.  
  
  
  
"I want children Lily. Lot's of them. But only with you. I want that serenity that our parents seem to have with their marriage, but only with you. But I also want you to want that too. So what I'm asking you is, Lillian Evans, will you marry me, will you mother my children, and will you love me for the rest of our days?" James asked as he opened the box to reveal the princess cut sapphire and diamond ring.  
  
  
  
Lily gasped. The ring was beautiful. "Yes!" she cried as she knelt down besides James and kissed him. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" she kept crying as James picked her up and twirled her around. "What's this?" James asked as he wiped away the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. "What are you crying for?"  
  
  
  
"I love you so much James. These are the only way it seems to express my happiness." She told him as she laid her head on his chest. James kissed the crown of her head, picked up her hand, and slowly slid the rind over her knuckles. "It fits." Lily mused as she held her hand in front of her face. "And it's beautiful. How'd you know what kind of stones to get me?" she asked as she turned her attention back to him.  
  
  
  
James grinned. "Easy. You're a water mage. Your tattoos say it all. And plus, you love the water." He reasoned.  
  
  
  
Lily laughed. "True. Now, what do you say that we go back down there and enjoy the rest of the party?"  
  
  
  
James wrinkled his nose. "I'd rather enjoy my fiancée for the rest of the party." He told her with a wink and hopeful eyes.  
  
  
  
Lily giggled and wagged her finger at him. "Now, now, Mr. Potter, you behave."  
  
  
  
James stuck his tongue out at her playfully at the same time he held his arm out for hers. Lily in turn stuck her tongue out at him and looped her arm through his.  
  
  
  
By the end of that party, every seventh year had known that Lily Evans and James Potter were engaged. Partly because as soon as they returned to the ballroom, Kayla and Sirius' eyes latched onto the sight of Lily's ring and cried out excitedly, "You're engaged!" Lily and James smiled the rest of the night and merrily accepted congratulations from various friends and acquaintances.  
  
  
  
And throughout the whole party, one Severus Snape couldn't take his eyes off of Lily's dress, and totally missed the announcement and commotion. "I wish I could see through clothes." He muttered angrily as he watched Lily dance and sway to the music, wrapped in the arms of James, or Sirius, or Remus.  
  
  
  
Lily and James couldn't wait to tell their parents, so when they walked into the Three Broom Sticks later that night to meet with their parents, they just stopped in the doorway and James yelled. "I'm engaged to marry Lily Evans."  
  
  
  
Michael Potter stood up and yelled, "That's a boy!" while Alexandra and Tiffany stood up, ran towards their baby's, and cried all over them. "Welcome to this crazy family," Tiffany Potter whispered into Lily's ear as she hugged her future daughter-in-law.  
  
  
  
IMPORTANT!!!!!! AUTHORS NOTE!!!!!  
  
  
  
Okay, I am planning a sequel to this story, but I haven't started it yet. I' probably going to spend next week coming out with a plot line, and then write the first chapter. If you wish, leave your email address in a review, and I'll email you guys when I finally post a chapter. And if any of you are interested, I'm not sure if my current beta is going to continue beta- ing my chapters, so if you're interested, leave me a review saying so also.  
  
And now, I'd like to thank the following people:  
  
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Thank you all for reviewing sometime throughout my story. All of your reviews helped me actually write. I hope to hear from all of you again in the second part of this story.  
  
Mistress del Mare 


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